# The Role of Motor Cortex Output Circuits in Stroke Recovery

> **NIH NIH R21** · MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA · 2021 · $414,750

## Abstract

Project Summary
Stroke is one of the leading causes of adult disability. The recovery following stroke improves
the patients’ long-term quality of life, but the underlying circuit mechanisms are not clear.
Previous work has shown that recovery depends on undamaged brain areas, but the precise
roles of the contralesional hemisphere in the recovery has been controversial: some claim that it
facilitates the recovery, whereas others propose that it hampers the recovery. The lack of a
consensus could be due to the lack of circuit-level analysis. The past studies treated
contralesional hemisphere as a single functional unit, despite that it consists of multiple groups
of neurons that project to distinct brain areas. Current proposal will test the hypothesis that
cortico-spinal neurons and callosal neurons in the contralesional hemisphere have different
roles in the functional recovery. In Aim 1, we will monitor longitudinally the activity of cortico-
spinal neurons and callosal neurons during functional recovery. We predict that cortico-spinal
neurons will show increased activity following the recovery, whereas callosal neurons do not. In
Aim 2, we will examine the effect of stimulating cortico-spinal neurons and callosal neurons. We
predict that activation of cortico-spinal neurons will facilitate the recovery but activation of
callosal neurons will not. The current proposal will unravel the role of contralesional hemisphere
at the level of neural circuits, which will advance our mechanistic understanding of recovery
from stroke.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10363334
- **Project number:** 1R21NS125571-01
- **Recipient organization:** MEDICAL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
- **Principal Investigator:** Takashi Sato
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $414,750
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-09-29 → 2024-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10363334

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10363334, The Role of Motor Cortex Output Circuits in Stroke Recovery (1R21NS125571-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10363334. Licensed CC0.

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