Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39073030›Full record

ArticleAnnals of clinical and translational neurology2024

Corticospinal premotor fibers facilitate complex motor control after stroke.

Theresa Paul, Matthew Cieslak, Lukas Hensel, Valerie M Wiemer, Caroline Tscherpel, Christian Grefkes, Scott T Grafton, Gereon R Fink, Lukas J Volz

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PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Annals of clinical and translational neurology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed, 2 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Trial
  4. Article
  5. Article
  6. Review
  7. Self-Organizing Recruitment of Compensatory Cortical Areas Post-Stroke Can Maximize Residual Motor Performance.IEEE transactions on neural systems and rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society · 2026
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Theresa PaulMedical Faculty, University of Cologne, and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-0244-7503
Matthew CieslakDepartment of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Lukas HenselMedical Faculty, University of Cologne, and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Valerie M WiemerMedical Faculty, University of Cologne, and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Caroline TscherpelMedical Faculty, University of Cologne, and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Christian GrefkesDepartment of Neurology, University Hospital Frankfurt, Goethe University Frankfurt, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-1656-720X
Scott T GraftonDepartment of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California, Santa Barbara, California, USA.
Gereon R FinkMedical Faculty, University of Cologne, and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
Lukas J VolzMedical Faculty, University of Cologne, and Department of Neurology, University Hospital Cologne, Cologne, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-0161-654X

Funding

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft 431549029-SFB1451Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies W911NF-19-2-0026Marga und Walter Boll Stiftung
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveThe corticospinal tract (CST) is considered the most important motor output pathway comprising fibers from the primary motor cortex (M1) and various premotor areas. Damage to its descending fibers after stroke commonly leads to motor impairment. While premotor areas are thought to critically support motor recovery after stroke, the functional role of their corticospinal output for different aspects of post-stroke motor control remains poorly understood.

methodsWe assessed the differential role of CST fibers originating from premotor areas and M1 in the control of basal (single-joint muscle synergies and strength) and complex motor control (involving inter-joint coordination and visuomotor integration) using a novel diffusion imaging approach in chronic stroke patients.

resultsWhile M1 sub-tract anisotropy was positively correlated with basal and complex motor skills, anisotropy of PMd, PMv, and SMA sub-tracts was exclusively associated with complex motor tasks. Interestingly, patients featuring persistent motor deficits showed an additional positive association between premotor sub-tract integrity and basal motor control.

interpretationWhile descending M1 output seems to be a prerequisite for any form of upper limb movements, complex motor skills critically depend on output from premotor areas after stroke. The additional involvement of premotor tracts in basal motor control in patients with persistent deficits emphasizes their compensatory capacity in post-stroke motor control. In summary, our findings highlight the pivotal role of descending corticospinal output from premotor areas for motor control after stroke, which thus serve as prime candidates for future interventions to amplify motor recovery.

Indexed as

Motor CortexPyramidal TractsStrokeAdultAgedDiffusion Tensor ImagingFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMotor Skills

Identifiers

PMID39073030
PMCPMC11537136

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.