Researchers at the University of Alabama, Birmingham, have discovered that an increase in grey matter in the brains of stroke patients and accident victims can result in drastically increased mobility of a disabled limb. While the mechanism for this improvement is not yet fully understood, research into this phenomena is expected to produce information and results over the next few years.

Newswise — A rehabilitation therapy developed by a UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) neuroscientist produces changes in the structure of the brain, the first evidence of actual brain remodeling resulting from a rehabilitation therapy. In findings presented online in Stroke, a Journal of the American Heart Association, sophisticated analysis of MRI images of stroke patients showed that Constraint Induced (CI) therapy produced a significant increase in the amount of gray matter present in the brains of patients receiving the therapy.

“This changes all of our perspectives about what is possible in the brain,” said UAB neuroscientist Edward Taub, Ph.D., a study author and the developer of CI therapy. “For years, science thought the adult brain was hardwired, with no ability to change or adapt. Now we have further proof of the concept of neuroplasticity, the brain’s remarkable ability to respond to damage to compensate for the injury.”

The efficacy of CI therapy as a rehabilitation technique for stroke patients has been well documented. Taub and other researchers worldwide have seen remarkable clinical changes in patients, such as dramatically improved use of an affected arm or leg. They also have observed functional changes in the brain, such as increased blood flow or an increase in excitability of brain cells. The new study confirms what Taub and his colleagues have long suspected….that the brain also has the ability to remodel itself structurally.