{"title":"Editorial: Neural mechanisms of motor planning in assisted voluntary movement.","authors":"Suriya Prakash Muthukrishnan, Adham Atyabi","doi":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1582214","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1582214","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":12536,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Human Neuroscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1582214"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11965887/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143779912","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Morgane Marzulli, Alexandre Bleuzé, Joe Saad, Felix Martel, Philippe Ciuciu, Tetiana Aksenova, Lucas Struber
{"title":"Classifying mental motor tasks from chronic ECoG-BCI recordings using phase-amplitude coupling features.","authors":"Morgane Marzulli, Alexandre Bleuzé, Joe Saad, Felix Martel, Philippe Ciuciu, Tetiana Aksenova, Lucas Struber","doi":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1521491","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1521491","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), the modulation of high-frequency neural oscillations by the phase of slower oscillations, is increasingly recognized as a marker of goal-directed motor behavior. Despite this interest, its specific role and potential value in decoding attempted motor movements remain unclear.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This study investigates whether PAC-derived features can be leveraged to classify different motor behaviors from ECoG signals within Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) systems. ECoG data were collected using the WIMAGINE implant during BCI experiments with a tetraplegic patient performing mental motor tasks. The data underwent preprocessing to extract complex neural oscillation features (amplitude, phase) through spectral decomposition techniques. These features were then used to quantify PAC by calculating different coupling indices. PAC metrics served as input features in a machine learning pipeline to evaluate their effectiveness in predicting mental tasks (idle state, right-hand movement, left-hand movement) in both offline and pseudo-online modes.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The PAC features demonstrated high accuracy in distinguishing among motor tasks, with key classification features highlighting the coupling of theta/low-gamma and beta/high-gamma frequency bands.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>These preliminary findings hold significant potential for advancing our understanding of motor behavior and for developing optimized BCI systems.</p>","PeriodicalId":12536,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Human Neuroscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1521491"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11936922/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143718605","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Case Report: Reversible alien hand syndrome caused by cerebral infarction.","authors":"Guo-Liang Lin, Xiao-Qian Yu, Han-Yu Cai, Ru-Yi Zhou, Xiao-Tian Li, Xiong Zhang, Jian-Yong Wang","doi":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1551539","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1551539","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Alien hand syndrome (AHS) is a rare apraxia syndrome that may arise from several neurological disorders including stroke. Given the uncommon symptoms, stroke with AHS as its main manifestation often results in diagnostic challenges and treatment delays.</p><p><strong>Case presentation: </strong>We herein presented a case of post-stroke AHS caused by corpus callosum infarction. We prescribed him aspirin, clopidogrel, atorvastatin and memantine, and his AHS was remitted completely within 8 days.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>AHS is a rare manifestation of cerebral infarction that is generally reversible. Rapid identification of post-stroke AHS and early initiation of treatment are important to improve patient's prognosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":12536,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Human Neuroscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1551539"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11936989/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143718602","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Joe Saad, Adrian Evans, Ilan Jaoui, Victor Roux-Sibillon, Emmanuel Hardy, Lorena Anghel
{"title":"Comparison metrics and power trade-offs for BCI motor decoding circuit design.","authors":"Joe Saad, Adrian Evans, Ilan Jaoui, Victor Roux-Sibillon, Emmanuel Hardy, Lorena Anghel","doi":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1547074","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1547074","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Brain signal decoders are increasingly being used in early clinical trials for rehabilitation and assistive applications such as motor control and speech decoding. As many Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) need to be deployed in battery-powered or implantable devices, signal decoding must be performed using low-power circuits. This paper reviews existing hardware systems for BCIs, with a focus on motor decoding, to better understand the factors influencing the power and algorithmic performance of such systems. We propose metrics to compare the energy efficiency of a broad range of on-chip decoding systems covering Electroencephalography (EEG), Electrocorticography (ECoG), and Microelectrode Array (MEA) signals. Our analysis shows that achieving a given classification rate requires an Input Data Rate (IDR) that can be empirically estimated, a finding that is helpful for sizing new BCI systems. Counter-intuitively, our findings show a negative correlation between the power consumption per channel (PpC) and the Information Transfer Rate (ITR). This suggests that increasing the number of channels can simultaneously reduce the PpC through hardware sharing and increase the ITR by providing new input data. In fact, for EEG and ECoG decoding circuits, the power consumption is dominated by the complexity of signal processing. To better understand how to minimize this power consumption, we review the optimizations used in state-of-the-art decoding circuits.</p>","PeriodicalId":12536,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Human Neuroscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1547074"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11936894/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143718607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Natalie Kohler, Anna M Czepiel, Örjan de Manzano, Giacomo Novembre, Peter E Keller, Arno Villringer, Daniela Sammler
{"title":"Distinct and content-specific neural representations of self- and other-produced actions in joint piano performance.","authors":"Natalie Kohler, Anna M Czepiel, Örjan de Manzano, Giacomo Novembre, Peter E Keller, Arno Villringer, Daniela Sammler","doi":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1543131","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1543131","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>During ensemble performance, musicians predict their own and their partners' action outcomes to smoothly coordinate in real time. The neural auditory-motor system is thought to contribute to these predictions by running internal forward models that simulate self- and other-produced actions slightly ahead of time. What remains elusive, however, is whether and how own and partner actions can be represented <i>simultaneously</i> and <i>distinctively</i> in the sensorimotor system, and whether these representations are <i>content-specific</i>. Here, we applied multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data of duetting pianists to dissociate the neural representation of self- and other-produced actions during synchronous joint music performance. Expert pianists played familiar right-hand melodies in a 3 T MR-scanner, in duet with a partner who played the corresponding left-hand basslines in an adjacent room. In half of the pieces, pianists were motorically familiar (or unfamiliar) with their partner's left-hand part. MVPA was applied in primary motor and premotor cortices (M1, PMC), cerebellum, and planum temporale of both hemispheres to classify which piece was performed. Classification accuracies were higher in left than right M1, reflecting the content-specific neural representation of self-produced right-hand melodies. Notably, PMC showed the opposite lateralization, with higher accuracies in the right than left hemisphere, likely reflecting the content-specific neural representation of other-produced left-hand basslines. Direct physiological support for the representational alignment of partners' M1 and PMC should be gained in future studies using novel tools like interbrain representational similarity analyses. Surprisingly, motor representations in PMC were similarly precise irrespective of familiarity with the partner's part. This suggests that expert pianists may generalize contents of familiar actions to unfamiliar pieces with similar musical structure, based on the auditory perception of the partner's part. Overall, these findings support the notion of parallel, distinct, and content-specific self and other internal forward models that are integrated within cortico-cerebellar auditory-motor networks to support smooth coordination in musical ensemble performance and possibly other forms of social interaction.</p>","PeriodicalId":12536,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Human Neuroscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1543131"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11936940/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143718609","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Neuroplastic effects of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS): from mechanisms to clinical trials.","authors":"Desmond Agboada, Zhihe Zhao, Miles Wischnewski","doi":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1548478","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1548478","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) is a promising non-invasive neuromodulation technique with the potential for inducing neuroplasticity and enhancing cognitive and clinical outcomes. A unique feature of tACS, compared to other stimulation modalities, is that it modulates brain activity by entraining neural activity and oscillations to an externally applied alternating current. While many studies have focused on online effects during stimulation, growing evidence suggests that tACS can induce sustained after-effects, which emphasizes the potential to induce long-term neurophysiological changes, essential for therapeutic applications. In the first part of this review, we discuss how tACS after-effects could be mediated by four non-mutually exclusive mechanisms. First, spike-timing-dependent plasticity (STDP), where the timing of pre- and postsynaptic spikes strengthens or weakens synaptic connections. Second, spike-phase coupling and oscillation phase as mediators of plasticity. Third, homeostatic plasticity, emphasizing the importance of neural activity to operate within dynamic physiological ranges. Fourth, state-dependent plasticity, which highlights the importance of the current brain state in modulatory effects of tACS. In the second part of this review, we discuss tACS applications in clinical trials targeting neurological and psychiatric disorders, including major depressive disorder, schizophrenia, Parkinson's disease, and Alzheimer's disease. Evidence suggests that repeated tACS sessions, optimized for individual oscillatory frequencies and combined with behavioral interventions, may result in lasting effects and enhance therapeutic outcomes. However, critical challenges remain, including the need for personalized dosing, improved current modeling, and systematic investigation of long-term effects. In conclusion, this review highlights the mechanisms and translational potential of tACS, emphasizing the importance of bridging basic neuroscience and clinical research to optimize its use as a therapeutic tool.</p>","PeriodicalId":12536,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Human Neuroscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1548478"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-12","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11936966/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143718612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Contextual consistency promotes visual-haptic simultaneity perception.","authors":"Hiroyuki Umemura, Sunao Iwaki","doi":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1550231","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1550231","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>In this study, we investigate the influence of causality validity in the information provided to each of two sensory modalities on the integration of multisensory information. For the purpose, stimuli that simulated a causal event, a ball striking an object, were created using a head-mounted display and a haptic device. The visual position and motion of the object were aligned to the haptic feedback received by the observer. The haptic device delivered a vibration around the moment of impact. Three vibration directions were used to assess the effect of the validity of the causal relationship between the two events. Participants were asked to determine whether the collision of the ball and the vibration were simultaneous. The findings revealed that the participants were more likely to perceive the events as simultaneous when the direction of the vibration matched the ball's movement. These results suggest that valid causal consistency across different modalities enhances the binding of these signals as originating from a single source.</p>","PeriodicalId":12536,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Human Neuroscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1550231"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11933114/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143709645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Tone and vowel perception delay: long-term effects of late cochlear implant in children with prelingual deafness.","authors":"Maojin Liang, Peng Peng, Jiahao Liu, Zhengye Wang, Kaiying Lai, Junbo Wang, Yiqing Zheng, Suiping Wang","doi":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1516931","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1516931","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Purpose: </strong>The influence of the duration of the subsequent rehabilitation period on the perception of Mandarin tones and vowels has not been fully investigated. This study explores phoneme perception and event-related potential (ERP) responses in prelingually cochlear implant (CI) children, comparing early (eCI) vs. late implantation (lCI) with 5-year rehabilitation.</p><p><strong>Method and results: </strong>This study involved 19 early cochlear implanted (eCI) children, 19 late cochlear implanted (lCI) children (both right-ear implantation), and 21 normal-hearing (NH) children as a control group. EEG data were recorded for all groups during a passive multi-feature auditory oddball paradigm, involving deviant and standard stimuli. Behavioral performance was also assessed to validate Electroencephalogram-based (EEG-based) indicators. Results showed that the lCI group had significantly longer P2 latency and amplitude in the ERP test compared to the NH group, but not the eCI group. Both CI groups had smaller mismatch negativity (MMN) amplitudes than the NH group in tone and consonant conditions. The lCI group showed larger late discriminative negativity (LDN) amplitudes than the eCI group in tone and vowel conditions. Behavioral results aligned with EEG findings, with the eCI group performing better than the lCI group in tone and vowel conditions. The LDN amplitude in CI groups is larger for both tone and vowel conditions when the age at cochlear implantation is older.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>These results indicate that (1) the earlier the age of implantation, the better the ability to perceive tones; (2) Implantation age of CI showed no significant effect on consonant perception; (3) The LDN component may be an indicator to discriminate eCI and lCI children in terms of Mandarin tone and vowel perception. (4) The P2 latency and amplitude may be an indicator to discriminate NH and CI children in phoneme perception.</p>","PeriodicalId":12536,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Human Neuroscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1516931"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11933052/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143709646","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Emily Lynn McNicol, Bethel Osuagwu, Aleksandra Vučković
{"title":"Task-dependent frequency of intermuscular coherence in the presence of transcutaneous electrical spinal cord stimulation: a feasibility study.","authors":"Emily Lynn McNicol, Bethel Osuagwu, Aleksandra Vučković","doi":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1556325","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1556325","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The task-dependent frequency of common neural drive to muscles has important applications for motor rehabilitation therapies. While it is well established that muscle dynamics influence the synchronicity of neural drive, the modulation of this coherence between static and dynamic movements remains unclear. Transcutaneous electrical spinal cord stimulation (TESCS) is believed to enhance spinal cord excitability, potentially improving brain-muscle communication; however, its effect on common neural drive to muscles has not yet been reported. This study aimed to investigate differences in intermuscular coherence (IMC) frequency between static and dynamic movement tasks and determine whether it is feasible to enhance it by TESCS. Participants performed static and dynamic hand grip tasks at different timepoints with respect to stimulation, set to 80% tolerable intensity. Surface EMG signals were recorded from the <i>flexor digitorum superficialis</i> (FDS) and <i>extensor digitorum communis</i> (EDC) muscles during each trial to determine beta- (15-30 Hz) and gamma- (30-48 Hz) band intermuscular coherence. The sum of IMC (<i>IMC</i> <sub><i>area</i></sub> ) was significantly greater (<i>p</i> <sub><i>B</i></sub> = 0.018, <i>p</i> <sub><i>D</i></sub> = 0.0183, <i>p</i> <sub><i>IM</i></sub> = 0.0172, <i>p</i> <sub>5</sub> = 0.0206, <i>p</i> <sub>10</sub> = 0.0183, <i>p</i> <sub>15</sub> = 0.0172) in the gamma-band for the dynamic task compared to the static task at every timepoint (before TESCS, during TESCS and immediately, 5-min, 10-min, and 15-min after TESCS) which may reflect a mechanism of increased efficiency of corticospinal interactions and could have implications for the types of movements that should be performed while receiving TESCS. There was no immediate measurable effect of TESCS on <i>IMC</i> <sub><i>area</i></sub> at any timepoint in the beta-band (<i>p</i> = 0.25, <i>p</i> = 0.31) or gamma-band (<i>p</i> = 0.52, <i>p</i> = 0.73) for either the static or dynamic task respectively. This could be explained by corticospinal networks already working at maximum capacity in able-bodied individuals or that a longer duration of TESCS is required to elicit a measurable effect. While the intra-task difference in beta- and gamma-band <i>IMC</i> <sub><i>area</i></sub> between static and dynamic tasks was statistically significant (<i>p</i> <sub><i>IM</i></sub> = 0.0275, <i>p</i> <sub>5</sub> = 0.0275, <i>p</i> <sub>15</sub> = 0.0031) at timepoints after stimulation, we did not find direct evidence that TESCS influenced this beta-gamma interaction. Thus, further investigation is needed to establish any causal relationship.</p>","PeriodicalId":12536,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Human Neuroscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1556325"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11931029/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143700286","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Na Yan, Bohan Hu, Huina Zhai, Xu Han, Cuiling Hu, Xueyi Guan, Jian Gong
{"title":"Structural and functional alterations in the contralateral hemisphere following pediatric intracranial surgery: a pilot longitudinal neuroimaging study.","authors":"Na Yan, Bohan Hu, Huina Zhai, Xu Han, Cuiling Hu, Xueyi Guan, Jian Gong","doi":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1568945","DOIUrl":"10.3389/fnhum.2025.1568945","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Intracranial space-occupying lesions (ISOLs) are common pediatric conditions. Recent therapeutic advances have significantly improved survival rates, necessitating increased attention to post-operative cognitive outcomes, which are crucial determinants of patients' quality of life.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>While previous studies have predominantly focused on short-term post-operative changes, this study aimed to investigate longitudinal changes in cognition, brain structure, and function of the contralateral hemisphere following pediatric neurosurgery.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Nineteen pediatric patients with ISOLs were enrolled in a paired design study. Cognitive assessments, structural imaging, and functional imaging data were collected at three time points: pre-operation, first post-operative follow-up (mean 75 days pre-operation), and second post-operative follow-up (mean 316 days pre-operation). Relevant metrics were computed and compared across time points.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The majority of cognitive domains exhibited a gradual longitudinal improvement trajectory, with three domains showing significant enhancement at the second follow-up compared to preoperative baseline: cognitive flexibility (<i>t</i> = 4.201, <i>p</i> = 0.001), executive function (<i>t</i> = 3.478, <i>p</i> = 0.003), and social accuracy (<i>t</i> = 3.248, <i>p</i> = 0.004). The contralesional hemisphere demonstrated alterations primarily characterized by gray matter density reduction, progressing from subcortical structures (first follow-up: thalamus, peak intensity = -7.54, cluster <i>p</i> < 0.016) to cortical regions (second follow-up compared to previous follow-up: superior frontal gyrus, peak intensity = -7.80, cluster <i>p</i> < 0.016), followed by a subsequent increase in brain activity power of smaller magnitude (second follow-up: medial superior frontal gyrus, amplitude of low frequency fluctuation, peak intensity = 5.96, cluster <i>p</i> < 0.016). Correlation analysis suggests that there is an association between changes in brain structure and alterations in cognitive function (<i>r</i> = -0.53, <i>p</i> = 0.019).</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Our findings suggest that post-craniotomy structural and functional brain changes in children follow a subcortical-to-cortical trajectory, with structural alterations (decreased gray matter density) preceding functional activation. This process demonstrates progressive and cumulative characteristics. These modifications appear to correlate with cognitive function recovery and may represent potential mechanisms underlying spontaneous cognitive rehabilitation in pediatric patients post-surgery. Cautiously interpreted, the deeper neuroplastic mechanisms underlying these changes might involve synaptic pruning-like processes induced by external perturbation.</p>","PeriodicalId":12536,"journal":{"name":"Frontiers in Human Neuroscience","volume":"19 ","pages":"1568945"},"PeriodicalIF":2.4,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11925946/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143691710","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}