1Singapore
Bioimaging Consortium, Singapore, Singapore; 2Department of Biological
Sciences, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore; 3A*STAR-NUS
Clinical Imaging Research Centre, Singapore, Singapore; 4Institute
for Infocomm Research, Singapore, Singapore; 5The Division of
Neurology and Rehabilitation Medicine, National University Hospital System,
Singapore, Singapore
Perfusion and diffusion MRI were used to understand the plasticity in gray and white matters after motor training in stroke patients with impaired upper extremity. Robot-assisted motor imagery and brain-computer interface (MI-BCI) combined with or without transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) were conducted. Brain CBF change and FA changes along motor related fiber tracts are found after 2 weeks of training and correlate with clinical improvement. tDCS did not show significant effects on motor recovery. These findings will be helpful in understanding the role of neuroplasticity in motor recovery, and in the development of effective therapeutic approach for stroke rehabilitation.