# Multimodal Characterization of Cerebral Reorganization in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy

> **NIH NIH R03** · BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS) · 2024 · $330,000

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Cerebral palsy is the most common pediatric movement disorder and is caused by
damage to brain areas during development. Children with unilateral cerebral palsy (UCP), the most
common form of cerebral palsy, have unilateral impairments that cause muscle weakness, poor
coordination, and difficulty grasping objects. These upper-extremity (UE) impairments reduce children's ability
to participate in age-appropriate activities. There is an urgent need for effective hand therapies based on
mechanisms of motor recovery. Growing evidence indicates that skill-based training affords the opportunity to
capitalize on residual brain plasticity in children with UCP and improve hand function. Yet, the diversity of brain
injuries, and subsequent brain reorganization in children with UCP, leads to heterogeneous outcomes even for
the most established therapies. Our long-term goal is to optimize the effectiveness of therapies by adapting
them to the individual characteristics of children with UCP. A critical precursor to this goal is characterizing how
motor pathways adapt following perinatal brain injury. However, how best to examine brain networks
underlying control of the affected UE remains unknown. The objective of this project to use a multimodal
approach to identify atypical functional and anatomical patterns of connectivity in children with UCP and relate
these patterns to impairment in unimanual and bimanual function. Characterizing mechanisms of motor
pathway reorganization will serve as a critical precursor to the development of individualized rehabilitation
approaches. We propose to use measurements of functional cortical activity (i.e. functional near-infrared
spectroscopy) and transcranial magnetic stimulation to determine the unique brain areas responsible for
control of the affected upper-extremity in children with UCP. We will examine these patterns in relation to
standardized assessments of dexterity and performance of bimanual skills. We will leverage the information
gained from this study to generate new hypotheses about potential neural targets for functional recovery. Thus,
our work will inform the design of a future large-scale trial testing neurorehabilitation strategies based on
individual motor pathway reorganization.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10816887
- **Project number:** 1R03HD114194-01
- **Recipient organization:** BOSTON UNIVERSITY (CHARLES RIVER CAMPUS)
- **Principal Investigator:** Claudio Luis Ferre
- **Activity code:** R03 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $330,000
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-07-15 → 2026-06-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10816887

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10816887, Multimodal Characterization of Cerebral Reorganization in Children with Unilateral Cerebral Palsy (1R03HD114194-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10816887. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*