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Background: A large proportion of survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI) have persistent cognitive impairments, the profile of which does not always correspond to the size and location of injuries. One possible explanation could be that TBI-induced damage extends beyond obvious lesion sites to affect remote brain networks. We explored this hypothesis in the context of a simple and well-characterized network, the motor network. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to establish the residual integrity of the motor network as an important proof of principle of abnormal connectivity in TBI.

Methods: fMRI data were obtained from 12 right-handed patients and 9 healthy controls while they performed the finger-thumb opposition task with the right hand. We used both conventional and psychophysiologic interaction (PPI) analyses to examine the integrity of functional connections from brain regions we found to be …