Functional cortical reorganization in cases of cervical spondylotic myelopathy and changes associated with surgery

OBJECTIVE The physiological mechanisms underlying the recovery of motor function after cervical spondylotic myelopathy(CSM) surgery are poorly understood. Neuronal plasticity allows neurons to compensate for injury and disease and to adjust their activities in response to new situations or changes in their environment. Cortical reorganization as well as improvement in corticospinal conduction happens during motor recovery after stroke and spinal cord injury. In this study the authors aimed to understand the cortical changes that occur due to CSM and following CSM surgery and to correlate these changes with functional recovery by using blood oxygen level–dependent( BOLD) functional MRI (fMRI). METHODS Twenty-two patients having symptoms related to cervical cord compression due to spondylotic changes along with 12 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were included in this study. Patients underwent cervical spine MRI and BOLDfMRI at 1 month before surgery (baseline) and 6 months after surgery. RESULTS Fiv...