Research: the brain after a stroke
17 June 2005
When one part of the brain is damaged by a stroke, the surrounding healthy parts work harder to compensate and keep us functioning as normal. This new understanding of how the brain works after a stroke could dramatically improve our understanding of what happens to the brain, and ultimately help develop more effective treatments.
The discovery comes as part of a research project at the Functional Imaging Laboratory at University College London (UCL) exploring the impact of a stroke on the brain using a non-invasive procedure called Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS). TMS sends electrical pulses into the brain creating a controlled, short-term reduction in responsiveness - similar to those experienced after a stroke.
During this procedure, volunteers perform a series of basic tasks, such as tapping out a rhythm with their fingers while their brain activity is monitored with a PET scan. The scans show an increase in activity in the areas surrounding the impaired part of the brain - again, similar to those experienced by stroke patients.
The brain responds to these manufactured impairments in the same way as it does to the damage caused by a stroke, suggesting that the additional activity seen after a stroke is part of a normal brain response.
Potentially, the TMS technique could help overcome some of the difficulties experienced in trying to research strokes, including finding suitable volunteers.
Each year over 130 000 people in England and Wales have a stroke and about 60 000 people die as a result. Stroke is also the largest single cause of severe disability in England and Wales, with over 250 000 people being affected at any one time.
See also
- Brain works overtime to help out after a stroke (Press release: 17 June 2005)