1. Plasticity and Spontaneous Activity Pulses in Disused Human Brain Circuits.
- Author
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Newbold DJ, Laumann TO, Hoyt CR, Hampton JM, Montez DF, Raut RV, Ortega M, Mitra A, Nielsen AN, Miller DB, Adeyemo B, Nguyen AL, Scheidter KM, Tanenbaum AB, Van AN, Marek S, Schlaggar BL, Carter AR, Greene DJ, Gordon EM, Raichle ME, Petersen SE, Snyder AZ, and Dosenbach NUF
- Subjects
- Activities of Daily Living, Casts, Surgical, Female, Functional Laterality, Functional Neuroimaging, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Motor Cortex physiology, Motor Skills physiology, Muscle Strength physiology, Neural Pathways diagnostic imaging, Neural Pathways physiology, Upper Extremity, Motor Cortex diagnostic imaging, Neuronal Plasticity physiology, Restraint, Physical
- Abstract
To induce brain plasticity in humans, we casted the dominant upper extremity for 2 weeks and tracked changes in functional connectivity using daily 30-min scans of resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI). Casting caused cortical and cerebellar regions controlling the disused extremity to functionally disconnect from the rest of the somatomotor system, while internal connectivity within the disused sub-circuit was maintained. Functional disconnection was evident within 48 h, progressed throughout the cast period, and reversed after cast removal. During the cast period, large, spontaneous pulses of activity propagated through the disused somatomotor sub-circuit. The adult brain seems to rely on regular use to maintain its functional architecture. Disuse-driven spontaneous activity pulses may help preserve functionally disconnected sub-circuits., Competing Interests: Declaration Of Interests The authors declare the following competing financial interest: N.U.F.D. is co-founder of NOUS Imaging., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2020
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