Central control of paretic lower extremity movement in chronically impaired stroke survivors

Lower extremity paresis poses significant disability to chronic stroke survivors. Whereas for the upper extremity, neural adaptations have been documented during motor recovery and as a result of specific therapies, little evidence exists for corresponding phenomena in the lower extremity. Here, the objective was to characterize changes brain activation related to paretic and non-paretic leg movement in chronically impaired stroke patients and healthy controls. Methods: Functional magnetic resonance imaging of knee movement was obtained in 32 patients 41.1±7.33 months after stroke (mean±SEM) and in 10 age-matche…