RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Rehabilitation promotes the recovery of structural and functional features of healthy neuronal networks after stroke
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 582775
DO 10.1101/582775
A1 Anna Letizia Allegra Mascaro
A1 Emilia Conti
A1 Stefano Lai
A1 Antonino Paolo Di Giovanna
A1 Cristina Spalletti
A1 Claudia Alia
A1 Alessandro Panarese
A1 Alessandro Scaglione
A1 Leonardo Sacconi
A1 Silvestro Micera
A1 Matteo Caleo
A1 Francesco Saverio Pavone
YR 2019
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2019/03/20/582775.abstract
AB Rehabilitation is the most effective treatment for promoting the recovery of motor deficits after stroke. One of the most challenging experimental goals is to unambiguously link brain rewiring to motor recovery prompted by rehabilitative therapy. Here, we investigated which aspects of cortical remodeling are induced by rehabilitation by combining optical imaging and manipulation tools in a mouse model of stroke. We revealed that the stabilization of peri-infarct synaptic contacts fostered by rehabilitation goes along with increased vascular density induced by angiogenesis. Furthermore, we showed the progressive formation of a new motor representation in the peri-infarct area where temporal and spatial features of cortical activation recovered towards pre-stroke condition. In the same animals we observed the reinforcement of inter-hemispheric connectivity after rehabilitation. The present work provides the first evidences that rehabilitation promotes the combined recovery of structural and functional features distinctive of healthy neuronal networks.