Alterations in intrinsic functional networks in squirrel monkey spinal cord after focal damage to primary motor cortex using resting state fMRI

The goal of this study was to detect and quantify how functional connectivity within networks in squirrel monkey spinal cord changes after a focal lesion of the primary motor cortex. We first used independent component analysis to identify 7 spatially independent functional hubs within each segment of the cervical spinal cord. The overall connectivity of these spinal cord networks increased after a lesion within M1, indicating plastic changes in spinal cord due to cortical injury. Distinct functional communities confined to neighboring spinal cord segments were identifiable one week after the injury, confirming spinal cord functional networks reorganized over that time.