Neuropediatrics 2001; 32(3): 159-161
DOI: 10.1055/s-2001-16619
Short Communication

Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Functional MRI in a 6-Year-Old Boy with Unilateral Cortical Malformation: Concordant Representation of Both Hands in the Unaffected Hemisphere

M. Staudt1,2 , T. Pieper3 , W. Grodd2 , P. Winkler4 , H. Holthausen3 , I. Krägeloh-Mann1
  • 1 Department of Neuropediatrics and Child Development, University Children's Hospital, Tübingen, Germany
  • 2 Section Experimental MR of the CNS, Department of Neuroradiology, Radiology Clinic, University of Tübingen, Germany
  • 3 Clinic for Neuropediatrics and Neuro-Rehabilitation - Epilepsy Center for Children and Adolescents, Vogtareuth, Germany
  • 4 Institute of Radiology, Olgahospital, Stuttgart, Germany
Further Information

Publication History

Publication Date:
24 August 2001 (online)

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed in a 6-year-old boy with a complex malformation of the right hemisphere who suffered from pharmaco-refractory epilepsy. Clinical examination revealed left-sided hemiparesis and marked mirror movements of the opposite hand both during paretic and non-paretic hand movements. Functional MRI of repetitive unimanual grasping demonstrated that the two hands share a common cortical representation located in the central motor region of the unaffected left hemisphere. The affected right hemisphere did not show any activation during either task. This case study demonstrates the feasibility and usefulness of motor fMRI in young children before they undergo epilepsy surgery.

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Dr. Martin Staudt

Universitäts-Kinderklinik, Abteilung 3

Hoppe-Seyler-Str. 1

72076 Tübingen

Germany

Email: mnstaudt@med.uni-tuebingen.de

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