Many studies have examined motor impairments using voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM), but few are reported regarding the corresponding relationship between cerebral cortex injury and lower limb motor impairment analyzed using this technique. Dr. Alexandria M. Reynolds and his team correlated neuronal injury in the cerebral cortex of 16 patients with chronic stroke based on a VLSM analysis. They found that neuronal injury in the corona radiate, caudate nucleus and putamen of patients with chronic stroke could predict walking speed.
The behavioral measure scores were consistent with motor deficits expected after damage to the cortical motor system due to stroke. These findings suggest that VLSM may provide a more accurate prognosis of motor recovery from chronic stroke according to neuronal injury in cerebral motor cortex. The results were published in Neural Regeneration Research (Vol. 9, No. 7, 2014).
Small amounts of physical activity could help ward off stroke in the long term