Changes in intrinsic brain connectivity after a short course of anti-spastic SCS-therapy in patients with left hemisphere brain damage: a pilot studyстатья
Аннотация:Spasticity is considered a ‘positive’ sign of upper motor neuron syndrome, which occurs after central nervous system damage and manifests as a velocity-dependent increase in resistance during the passive stretch, resulting from hyperexcitability of the stretch reflex. The weakening of the inhibitory influence of the motor cortex, on the spinal α-motoneuron via the brainstem originating lateral reticulospi-nal tract seems to play a crucial role in spasticity occurrence. Evidence suggests that spinal cord stimulation (SCS) may be effective in reducing spasticity. The present pilot study aims to examine whether resting-state functional connectivity (RS-FC) modifies after a short course (1-7 days) of SCS-therapy in patients with left-sided brain damage (due to stroke and TBI) and whether these changes are related to improved regulation of stretch reflex as assessed by the Ashworth scale (AS).