Synergistic but independent: The role of corticospinal and alternate motor fibers for residual motor output after stroke

The structural states of the CST and also - to a smaller degree - of the aMF correlate with residual motor output in late subacute stroke patients. Based on this statistical modeling with all inherent limitations, the novel finding of an absence of a significant interaction between both tracts in regard of their functional role, suggests that both corticofugal pathways act synergistically but largely independently. These findings add to the understanding of the functional role of different corticofugal motor fibers and their interactions for motor output after stroke.