Neurophysiological and functional MRI evidence of reorganization of cortical motor areas in cerebral arteriovenous malformation

Caramia, Francesca; Francia, Ada; Mainero, Caterina; Tinelli, Emanuele; Palmieri, Maria Giuseppina; Colonnese, Claudio; Bozzao, Luigi; Caramia, Maria Donatella

doi:10.1016/j.mri.2009.05.029

« Previous Next »Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Volume 27, Issue 10 , Pages 1360-1369, December 2009

Neurophysiological and functional MRI evidence of reorganization of cortical motor areas in cerebral arteriovenous malformation

Francesca Caramia
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Rome “La Sapienza,” 00185 Rome, Italy
- Corresponding author. Tel.: +39 06 49914719; fax: +39 06 49914903.
Ada Francia
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Rome “La Sapienza,” 00185 Rome, Italy
Caterina Mainero
- Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA
Emanuele Tinelli
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Rome “La Sapienza,” 00185 Rome, Italy
Maria Giuseppina Palmieri
- Department of Public Health, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy
Claudio Colonnese
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Rome “La Sapienza,” 00185 Rome, Italy
Luigi Bozzao
- Department of Neurological Sciences, University of Rome “La Sapienza,” 00185 Rome, Italy
Maria Donatella Caramia
- Department of Public Health, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via Montpellier 1, 00133 Rome, Italy

Received 16 October 2008; received in revised form 3 April 2009; accepted 7 May 2009. published online 16 July 2009.

Abstract

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research has shown that brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) lead to reorganization of cortical motor areas. Since it is known that blood oxygenation level-dependent signal in fMRI may be influenced by the hemodynamic perturbation associated with the presence of the AVM, in the present study, a combined exploration with fMRI and transcranial magnetic stimulation was performed in a patient with a right rolandic AVM in order to explore the relationship between neuronal and hemodynamic activity. The combined protocol of investigation adopted in this study was able to provide significant information regarding neuronal activity of the different cortical areas that partake to post-lesional reorganization.

Keywords: Cortical evoked potential, fMRI, Arteriovenous malformation