Abstract: ObjectiveTo observe the course of motor related activation cortex after unilateral subcortical ischemic stroke. Methods6 healthy volunteers and 3 patients with solitary lacunar infarction in subcortical region underwent blood-oxygen level dependent functional MRI （BOLD-fMRI） as a block design of sequential finger tapping task. The data were analyzed with Statistical Parametric Mapping (SPM2). The activated voxels and the laterality index (LI) were calculated. The patients were assessed with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of upper limb after scanning, and were scanned again 8 months after stroke. ResultsThe activated cortices in patients were more extensive than that of volunteers. In the early stage of stroke, the activation cortex involved the bilateral sensory motor cortex (SMC) in all the patients, but various in other regions. In the late stage, the ipsilateral activations decreased while the contralateral activation increased in SMC. The LI of hemisphere, SMC, and M1 is higher than the early stage. ConclusionThe motor related activation gradually localized to the contralateral SMC with motor function recovery.

Key words: stroke, functional magnetic resonance imaging, motor function