Bilateral cortical network disruptions in the rat caudal forelimb area after unilateral stroke.
5 affiliations
- 1Department of Neurosurgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China.
- 2Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University, Wuhan, China.
- 3School of Information Engineering, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
- 4School of Automation Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China. [email protected].
- 5Department of Neurosurgery, The Third Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China. [email protected].
Abstract
Objective
To investigate how ischemic stroke alters neural activity in the caudal forelimb area (CFA) and identify electrophysiological mechanisms underlying post-stroke motor deficits.Methods
Local field potentials were recorded bilaterally from ipsilateral and contralateral CFA in rats under anesthesia and during a single-pellet retrieval task. Analyses included spectral power across canonical frequency bands, aperiodic 1/f slope characterization of excitation-inhibition balance, and cross-frequency coupling assessment of interhemispheric coordination.Results
Stroke induced widespread bilateral disruptions in oscillatory dynamics across delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma bands. The aperiodic 1/f slope shifted, reflecting altered excitation-inhibition balance. Cross-frequency coupling between hemispheres, particularly low-frequency phase to gamma amplitude, was reorganized, indicating impaired interhemispheric coordination and bilateral motor network imbalance. Notably, the main experimental cohort did not include a sham-operated control group; however, a pilot experiment with three sham and three MCAO animals, conducted using identical procedures, provided supportive evidence for the stability of key measures under sham conditions.Conclusions
This study demonstrates that ischemic stroke induces coordinated alterations in spectral organization, excitation-inhibition balance, and cross-frequency interactions within the bilateral caudal forelimb cortex. These findings indicate that post-stroke motor dysfunction arises from disrupted, state-dependent dynamics of distributed motor networks rather than isolated changes within the lesioned hemisphere.
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BibTeX
@article{cao2026bilateral,
title = {{Bilateral cortical network disruptions in the rat caudal forelimb area after unilateral stroke.}},
author = {Cheng'an Cao and Di Chen and Jin Gong and Shuangqi Gao and Jianwei Huang and Chaoran Jia and Hongyu Liu and Yuanqing Li and Ying Guo},
journal = {Behavioral and brain functions : BBF},
year = {2026},
month = jul,
doi = {10.1186/s12993-026-00355-9},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958553},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Bilateral cortical network disruptions in the rat caudal forelimb area after unilateral stroke.
AU - Cheng'an Cao
AU - Di Chen
AU - Jin Gong
AU - Shuangqi Gao
AU - Jianwei Huang
AU - Chaoran Jia
AU - Hongyu Liu
AU - Yuanqing Li
AU - Ying Guo
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/07/25
JO - Behavioral and brain functions : BBF
DO - 10.1186/s12993-026-00355-9
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42958553
AB - Objective To investigate how ischemic stroke alters neural activity in the caudal forelimb area (CFA) and identify electrophysiological mechanisms underlying post-stroke motor deficits.Methods Local field potentials were recorded bilaterally from ipsilateral and contralateral CFA in rats under anesthesia and during a single-pellet retrieval task. Analyses included spectral power across canonical frequency bands, aperiodic 1/f slope characterization of excitation-inhibition balance, and cross-frequency coupling assessment of interhemispheric coordination.Results Stroke induced widespread bilateral disruptions in oscillatory dynamics across delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma bands. The aperiodic 1/f slope shifted, reflecting altered excitation-inhibition balance. Cross-frequency coupling between hemispheres, particularly low-frequency phase to gamma amplitude, was reorganized, indicating impaired interhemispheric coordination and bilateral motor network imbalance. Notably, the main experimental cohort did not include a sham-operated control group; however, a pilot experiment with three sham and three MCAO animals, conducted using identical procedures, provided supportive evidence for the stability of key measures under sham conditions.Conclusions This study demonstrates that ischemic stroke induces coordinated alterations in spectral organization, excitation-inhibition balance, and cross-frequency interactions within the bilateral caudal forelimb cortex. These findings indicate that post-stroke motor dysfunction arises from disrupted, state-dependent dynamics of distributed motor networks rather than isolated changes within the lesioned hemisphere.
SN - 1744-9081
ER -