Affiliations: [a] Institute of Behavioral Sciences in Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea
| [b] Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Veterans Health Service Medical Center, Seoul, South Korea
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Dae Hyun Kim, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Veterans Health Service Medical, Jinhwangdo-ro 61-gil 53, Seoul, Gangdong-gu, 05368, South Korea. Tel.: +82 2 2225 4177; Fax: +82 2 2225 4177; E-mail: hohoho7490@gmail.com.
Abstract: OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to determine common structural and functional networks associated with asymmetric step length after unilateral ischemic stroke. METHODS:Thirty-nine chronic stroke patients were divided into two groups, based on the presence or absence of asymmetric step length. In each group, each lesion was mapped onto a brain magnetic resonance image. The structural and functional networks of brain regions connected to each lesion were identified using a public diffusion tensor and resting state function magnetic resonance image dataset. To identify brain regions associated with asymmetric step length, we conducted voxel-wise independent sample t-tests for structural and function lesion network maps. RESULTS:At least 85% of lesions showed functional network overlap in the bilateral frontal lobe. Functional connectivity of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the contralesional hemisphere was significantly decreased in group 1 compared to that in group 2. CONCLUSIONS:The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may have an important role in compensating for an asymmetric step length after a unilateral stroke.
