fMRI Based Analysis of Represented Hand and Face Areas in Patients with Facial Lesions

The aim of this study was to investigate cortical plasticity in potential transplant candidate patients with facial lesions and to analyze cortical reorganization after tissue loss using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The study included 10 healthy 4 facial lesion patients. The volar surfaces of the index finger and the thumb and the perioral area of the lower face were stimulated by means of a cotton swab and images were recorded on a 3T functional MRI system. The areas in the somatosensory cortex representing the hand and face differ in size, shape, density and position due to experience-related plasticity. The distances between the peaks of the represented hand and face areas were calculated in order to examine the ongoing cortical plasticity while ignoring these differences. As a result, the peak intensity distances were observed to be larger than the control group depending on the case with facial lesions.