Brain Maps Improve Stroke Treatment

Researchers are investigating the use of brain mapping technology to examine the connections between different regions in the brain of stroke patients.

In her 2010 review of this study led by Alexandre Carter, MD, PhD , a neurologist at Washington University, in St. Louis , Emily Singer states, “Stroke patients typically undergo an MRI to identify the precise location of their stroke. But these brain scans don’t show how the damaged part of the brain fits into the larger network–the neural connections that feed into and out of this spot. Just as a delay at one station of a subway system can affect service at numerous stops and subway lines, dysfunction in a localized part of the brain disrupts activity in several different parts.  In the new study, researchers assessed this disruption by creating a functional connectivity map of the brain in people who had recently suffered a stroke.”  Also according to Singer, “Mapping brain connectivity and recovery may give scientists a better measure of which treatments most effectively enhance the brain’s innate plasticity–its ability to rewire–and when the brain is best primed for repair.”

Here at ANC, measuring the brain’s connectivity measures with a QEEG is a standard part of the assessment process for all clients.