Reorganization of motor output projections after brain damage

2018 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 16K01489
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
• Research Institution: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology
• Principal Investigator: Higo Noriyuki 国立研究開発法人産業技術総合研究所, 情報・人間工学領域, 研究グループ長 (80357839)
• Project Period (FY): 2016-04-01 – 2019-03-31
• Keywords: リハビリテーション / 神経可塑性 / 疾患モデル / 非ヒト霊長類 / 巧緻動作 / 運動皮質 / 神経投射 / 機能回復

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Currently, neurorehabilitation, which takes into account evidence of the brain's capacity for reorganization, has received attention to ensure maximal functional recovery from brain damage caused by stroke.Study of brain reorganization that underlies functional recovery after stroke is important to establish novel neurorehabilitation technologies.We have previously shown that task-related cerebral blood flow increases in the ventral premotor cortex during recovery from a lesion in the primary motor cortex. In this study project, we showed neuronal output projections are reorganized after the primary motor cortex lesion. We also established a method of inducing focal infarcts at the posterior internal capsule, which carries corticospinal tracts, to bridge the gap between the results obtained in primary motor cortex-lesioned macaques and the development of clinical intervention strategies

Free Research Field

神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

脳損傷後の機能回復は高齢化社会を迎えた日本をはじめとした先進諸国において極めて要請が高いことは言うまでもない。また、そのメカニズムを理解することは脳が持つ柔軟性を理解することに繋がり、基礎研究としても重要である。とくに近年では脳卒中などで脳に損傷を受けた患者に対して脳を変える新たなリハビリテーション法であるニューロリハビリテーションが注目されており、本研究課題で得られた成果はその理論的基盤であり新しい技術の開発に貢献する。