Cortical Neuromodulation by Constraint Induced Therapy in Congenital Hemiparesis – an fMRI Study

Objectives: To assess the neurobiological basis for the functional improvement achieved by Constraint Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) in congenital hemiparesis. Methods: Eleven patients (age: 10–30 years; 6 females) with congenital hemiparesis (4 left-, 7 right-sided) due to a pre-, peri- or neonatally acquired, unilateral cortico-subcortical infarction in the middle cerebral artery territory and preserved crossed cortico-spinal projections to the paretic hand (as determined by transcranial magnetic stimulation) were included. After a twelve-day CIMT training period in an inpatient setting, all patients showed a…