Influence of contralateral homologous cortices on motor cortical reorganization after brachial plexus injuries in rats

Abstract

Brachial plexus injuries induce corresponding cortical representations to be occupied by adjacent cortices. The purpose of this study was to clarify if contralateral homologous motor regions of adjacent cortices influence occupation of deafferented motor cortex. 36 rats were divided into 3 groups of 12 each. In group 1, total brachial plexus root avulsion (tBPRA) was made on the left side. In group 2, rats underwent left tBPRA combined with corpus callosum transection (CCX). In group 3, only CCX was performed. 6 rats in each group were used for intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) to map representations of motor cortex in the right hemisphere at 7 days and the other 6 rats, at 3 months. 18 more rats without any operation underwent ICMS, with 6 each taken to serve as normal control for motor cortical representations' changes caused by different surgery. Results showed that in groups 1 and 2, sites for motor cortical representations of vibrissae, of neck and of the hindlimb was statistically more than that of control, respectively, and statistically more sites were found at 3 months than at 7 days, respectively. At the two time points, sites for vibrissa cortices and that for the hindlimb were statistically more in group 2 than in group 1, respectively. CCX alone did not induce change of site number for motor cortical representations. We conclude that after tBPRA, contralateral homologous motor cortices may, to some extent, prevent neighboring cortices from encroachment on motor cortical representations of the brachial plexus.