Longitudinal study on modulated corticospinal excitability throughout recovery in supratentorial stroke

Corticospinal excitability (CSE) is modulated by stroke-induced lesions affecting the brain. This modulation is known to be dependent on the timing of the evaluation, and strongest abnormalities are often found in the acute stage. Our study aimed to characterize changes in CSE asymmetry between the affected and the unaffected hemisphere (AH and UH) during the first month after stroke onset and at 6 month follow-up. Neuronavigated transcranial magnetic stimulation (nTMS) was used to assess the CSE of the abductor pollicis brevis (APB) muscle of the hand and tibialis anterior (TA) muscle of the leg in 16 patients over 5 time-points. AH excitability recovered significantly during 6 months, whe…