Evaluation of Infant Motor Development Following Perinatal Injury to Somatosensory Versus Motor Cortex

Abstract

Cerebral palsy is the most prevalent childhood motor disorder, affecting approximately 1 in 345 children in the United States (CDC). Perinatal brain injury is a primary cause of cerebral palsy, but little is known about mechanisms by which the infant brain recovers after such injury. Since heightened neuroplasticity is exhibited in the period between birth and 2 years, this constitutes a critical period to optimize intervention. This project sought to longitudinally investigate the individual and compound impact of somatosensory and motor cortical lesions on movement development in infants who experienced perinatal brain injury. Previous work has demonstrated the high interconnectivity of these regions and that they work in tandem to inform movement. Contributions of somatosensory integration to motor recovery after early brain injury have not been isolated or confirmed yet. Here, motor, somatosensory, and combined lesioned cortical volumes of 7 infants were quantified then correlated to Bayley-IV raw motor scores at 4 timepoints within the first 2 years of life. A low negative correlation between gross motor scores and combined, motor, and somatosensory lesion volumes was found, while no correlation was found between fine motor scores and combined, motor, or somatosensory lesion volumes. Results support that motor and somatosensory cortices are both involved in directing the course of motor development after perinatal brain injury.