Efficacy of virtual reality therapy using functional connectivity and structural measures in children with cerebral palsy

Hemiparetic cerebral palsy patients were administered Virtual reality therapy (VRT) in addition to constraint induced movement therapy (CIMT) in VRT group, and CIMT alone in CIMT group in a randomised trial. Task based functional MRI of left and right fist clenching and structural data were acquired in a 3T MR scanner. Cortical thickness, gyrification (using cat12 toolbox) and functional connectivity (using conn toolbox) results revealed presence of salience and motor networks in the VRT group, highlighting better recovery mechanism stimulated by virtual reality based training.