Stable cortical body maps before and after arm amputation.

Schone HR., Maimon-Mor RO., Kollamkulam M., Szymanska MA., Gerrand C., Woollard A., Kang NV., Baker CI., Makin TR.

The adult brain's capacity for cortical reorganization remains debated. Using longitudinal neuroimaging in three adults, followed before and up to 5 years after arm amputation, we compared cortical activity elicited by movement of the hand (before amputation) versus phantom hand (after amputation) and lips (before and after amputation). We observed stable cortical representations of both hand and lips in primary sensorimotor regions. By directly quantifying activity changes across amputation, we demonstrate that amputation does not trigger large-scale cortical reorganization.

DOI

10.1038/s41593-025-02037-7

Type

Journal article

Publication Date

2025-10-01T00:00:00+00:00

Volume

28

Pages

2015 - 2021

Total pages

6

Keywords

Humans, Male, Adult, Brain Mapping, Amputation, Surgical, Phantom Limb, Arm, Female, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Cerebral Cortex, Hand, Middle Aged

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