Yannick Bleyenheuft
Université catholique de Louvain, Belgium
Title: Capturing neuroplastic changes after intensive rehabilitation in children with unilateral cerebral palsy using DTI, TMS and fMRI
Biography
Biography: Yannick Bleyenheuft
Abstract
Intensive rehabilitation interventions have been shown to be efficacious in improving upper extremity function in children with unilateral spastic cerebral palsy (USCP). These interventions are based on motor learning principles and engage children in skillful movements. Improvements in upper extremity function are believed to be associated with neuroplastic changes. However, these neuroplastic changes have not been well-described in children with cerebral palsy, likely due to challenges in defining and implementing the optimal tools and tests in children. In this study, three different neurological assessments (diffusion tensor imaging-DTI, transcranial magnetic stimulation-TMS and functional magnetic resonance imaging-fMRI) will be documented before and after a bimanual intensive treatment of upper and lower extremities intervention (HABIT-ILE) in children with USCP presenting differential corticospinal developmental reorganization (ipsilateral and contralateral). The aim of this study is to show how to capture neurophysiological changes in maps, brain activity, and associated white matter tracts, and to document the complementary relationship between these measures. Independent of cortical reorganization, children showed changes in activation and increase in size of the motor areas controlling the affected hand, quantified with different techniques. In addition, DTI demonstrated unexpected changes in corticospinal tracts.