Abstracts

Rationale: An fMRI study of motor cortex activation was completed on an adult male epilepsy patient prior to and following corpus callosotomy surgery for intractable epilepsy. Methods: Whole brain functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans were conducted during a motor stimulation task before and after surgery.Results: Presurgical fMRI localized the cortical activation associated with left hand movement (open/close fist) to the right precentral and postcentral gyri. The patient underwent an anterior corpus callosotomy as treatment for his intractable epilepsy. Postsurgical fMRI localized the activation associated with the same left hand movement task to the ipsilateral (left) precentral and postcentral gyri with spatially broader and more robust activation levels.Conclusions: These data are strongly suggestive of neuroplasticity and sustained reorganization of motor cortex representations in the adult human brain following cortical injury and resective surgery that changes the underlying disease process (epileptic seizures). The data show that the structural context of the brain (e.g. anterior corpus callosotomy) and not just focal injury to motor cortex can be a catalyst for reorganization.