Study Status: Recruiting
Recruit Status: Recruiting
Study Type: Interventional
Official Title: Perinatal Stroke: Understanding Brain Reorganization Through Infant Neuroimaging and Neuromodulation
Brief Summary:
The incidence of perinatal stroke is relatively common, as high as 1 in 2,300 births, but little is known about the resulting changes in the brain that eventually manifest as cerebral palsy (CP). More importantly, no therapy has been devised to mitigate these specific maladaptive changes leading to hemiplegic CP. However, motor signs that indicate the infant is beginning to develop CP often do not become evident for several months after the diagnosis of perinatal stroke. This delays therapy. We view the first several months after perinatal stroke as a "window of opportunity" because it is known to be a critical period of development. During this period, a well-designed intervention could minimize maladaptive changes in the brain. To design such a science-based rehabilitation protocol for young infants during this window of opportunity, we must first develop efficient and reliable assessments to detect and measure maladaptive cortical reorganization in the brain.
Therefore, the main purpose of this study is to examine early brain reorganization in 3-5 months old infants with unilateral perinatal stroke using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and non-invasive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). In addition, the association between the brain reorganization and motor outcomes of these infant participants will be identified.
In this study, the MRI scans will include diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) - an established method used to investigate the integrity of pathways in the brain that control limb movement. Infants will be scanned during nature sleeping after feeding. The real scanning time will be less than 38 minutes. TMS is a painless, non-surgical brain stimulation device which uses principles of electromagnetic induction to excite cortical tissue from outside the skull. Using TMS as a device to modulate and exa