Stroke often results in long-term and severe limb dysfunction for a majority of patients, significantly limiting their activities and social participation. Constraint-induced movement therapy (CIMT) is a rehabilitation approach aimed explicitly at enhancing upper limb motor function following a stroke. However, the precise mechanism remains unknown. This study explores how CIMT may alleviate forelimb paralysis in ischemic mice, potentially through structural and functional remodeling of brain regions beyond the infarct area, especially the contralateral cortex. We demonstrated that CIMT recruits neurons from the contralesional cortex into the network that innervates the affected forelimb, as evidenced by PRV retrograde nerve tracing. Additionally, we investigated how CIMT influences synaptic plasticity in the contralateral cortex by evaluating synaptic growth marker levels and neurotransmission’s homeostatic regulation. Our findings uncover a rehabilitative mechanism by which CIMT treats ischemic stroke, characterized by increased recruitment of neurons from the contralateral cortex into the network that innervates the affected forelimb, facilitated by homeostatic regulation of neurotransmission.

中文翻译：

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约束诱导运动疗法调节对侧皮层的神经元募集和神经传递稳态，以增强缺血性中风后的功能恢复

中风通常会导致大多数患者长期且严重的肢体功能障碍，严重限制他们的活动和社会参与。约束诱导运动疗法（CIMT）是一种明确旨在增强中风后上肢运动功能的康复方法。然而，确切的机制仍然未知。这项研究探讨了 CIMT 如何减轻缺血小鼠的前肢麻痹，可能是通过梗死区域以外的大脑区域（尤其是对侧皮层）的结构和功能重塑。我们证明 CIMT 将对侧皮层的神经元招募到支配受影响前肢的网络中，如 PRV 逆行神经追踪所证明的那样。此外，我们通过评估突触生长标记物水平和神经传递的稳态调节，研究了 CIMT 如何影响对侧皮层的突触可塑性。我们的研究结果揭示了 CIMT 治疗缺血性中风的康复机制，其特征是神经传递的稳态调节促进了神经元从对侧皮层募集到支配受影响前肢的网络中。