Brain functional reorganization in pediatric patients with spinal cord injury and the impact of motor imagery training on it: a preliminary study

Ling Wang; Beining Yang; Qunya Qi; Haotian Xin; Yu Wang; Yulong Jia; Qian Chen; Weimin Zheng; Xin Chen; Tengfei Liang; Chuchu Sun; Jubao Du; Baowei Li; Jie Lu; Nan Chen

doi:10.1016/j.ibneur.2025.08.003

IBRO Neuroscience Reports (Dec 2025)

Brain functional reorganization in pediatric patients with spinal cord injury and the impact of motor imagery training on it: a preliminary study

Ling Wang,
Beining Yang,
Qunya Qi,
Haotian Xin,
Yu Wang,
Yulong Jia,
Qian Chen,
Weimin Zheng,
Xin Chen,
Tengfei Liang,
Chuchu Sun,
Jubao Du,
Baowei Li,
Jie Lu,
Nan Chen

Affiliations

Ling Wang: Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Beining Yang: Department of Radiology and Nuclear medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, China
Qunya Qi: Department of Radiology and Nuclear medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, China
Haotian Xin: Department of Radiology and Nuclear medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, China
Yu Wang: Department of Radiology and Nuclear medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, China
Yulong Jia: Department of Radiology and Nuclear medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, China
Qian Chen: Department of Radiology, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Weimin Zheng: Department of Radiology, Beijing Chaoyang Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Xin Chen: Department of Radiology and Nuclear medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, China
Tengfei Liang: Department of Medical Imaging, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei Engineering University, Handan, China
Chuchu Sun: Department of Nuclear Medicine, Beijing Electric Power Hospital, Beijing, China
Jubao Du: Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
Baowei Li: Department of Medical Imaging, Affiliated Hospital of Hebei Engineering University, Handan, China
Jie Lu: Department of Radiology and Nuclear medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, China
Nan Chen: Department of Radiology and Nuclear medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, Beijing, China; Correspondence to: Department of Radiology and Nuclear medicine, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing Key Laboratory of Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Brain Informatics, No. 45 Chang-chun St, Xicheng District, Beijing, China.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ibneur.2025.08.003
Journal volume & issue: Vol. 19
pp. 391 – 399

Abstract

Read online

To study the brain functional alterations of children after spinal cord injury (SCI) and explore their changes after motor imagery training (MIT), revealing brain functional reorganizations in pediatric SCI and finding possible neural mechanisms of MIT. Thirty pediatric SCI patients and 30 age- and gender-matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. Brain resting-state functional MRI images of all subjects were obtained using a 3.0 Tesla MRI system. Subsequently, eight of the patients completed a 4-week MIT, and then functional MRI scans were conducted once again. Then two-sample t-tests were used to compare amplitude of low frequency (ALFF), fractional ALFF (fALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo) between groups at baseline, and paired t-tests were used to investigate the changes in ALFF, fALFF and ReHo of patients before and after the treatment. Compared with HCs, the patients showed decreased ALFF and/or ReHo in bilateral postcentral gyrus (S1) and right orbitofrontal cortex, while increased ALFF and/or ReHo in the bilateral cerebellar lobules IV-VI, thalamus, left middle cingulate cortex (MCC), cerebellar Crus II, and right parahippocampal gyrus, caudate nucleus, middle temporal gyrus (MTG). Compared with those before MIT, the patients showed significantly increased ALFF in the right S1 after the treatment. These findings demonstrated brain functional reorganization in sensoriomotor, cognitive-emotional and auditory/language related regions, and MIT may promote the rehabilitation by reversing the functionally reorganized sensoriomotor areas, which may provide a possible mechanism for MIT.

Published in IBRO Neuroscience Reports

ISSN: 2667-2421 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: United Kingdom
LCC subjects: Medicine: Internal medicine: Neurosciences. Biological psychiatry. Neuropsychiatry
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/ibro-neuroscience-reports

About the journal

Abstract

Keywords