Displacement of primary sensorimotor cortex activation after subcortical stroke: a longitudinal PET study with clinical correlation

Five patients with left striatocapsular infarction were studied twice with PET during auditory-cued right thumb-index tapping, around 2 months after stroke and again around 8 months after stroke. At PET1 and PET2, the ipsilesional primary sensorimotor (SM1) activation peak Talairach coordinates were compared to those from seven aged-matched healthy controls. At PET1, there was a significant posterior displacement of SM1 activation peak, which confirms a previous report and may represent unmasking/disinhibition of motor representations. Over time, there was no significant change in the coordinates, and no significant correlation between coordinate changes from PET I to PET2 and concomitant motor recovery. The implications of posterior displacement of SM1 activation peak for recovery therefore remain elusive. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.