Yi-Ching Lynn Ho1,
Erhard Nss-Schmidt1, Jamie Near2, Jakob Udby Blicher1,
3
1Center
for Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, Aarhus,
Denmark; 2Dept. of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, QC,
Canada; 3Hammel Neurorehabilitation & Research, Aarhus
University Hospital, Hammel, Denmark
There has yet to be characterization of GABA levels post stroke, even though decreases in cortical inhibition have been found. It is unclear if these results are due to decreased GABA concentrations or receptor activity. Using GABA-edited MRS, we compared post stroke GABA levels in the motor cortex to those in healthy subjects and investigated the possibility that GABA levels can be modulated after two weeks of intensive hand training. We found that GABA levels after stroke were diminished compared to healthy subjects, but it appears possible to normalize these GABA levels, as well as hand function with therapy.