Relationship between the amount of physical activity and brain structure in patients with chronic stroke

Objectives: The association between the amount of physical activity and the brain structure in patients with stroke is unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the structural characteristics of the brain in patients with chronic stroke engaging in varying levels of physical activity. Methods: This study included 10 healthy participants and 10 patients with stroke. Structural images were obtained, and the physical activity of patients with stroke was measured using a triaxial accelerometer. Additionally, the brain structure was assessed using voxel-based morphometry for gray and white matter volumes. The analysis software used were Statistical Parametric Mapping 12 and MATLAB version R2020a. The differences in brain structure between healthy participants and stroke patients were investigated. The brain regions associated with the amount of physical activity were analyzed. Results: There was a significant decrease in the gray matter volume of the contralesional cerebellum and ipsilesional thalamus in stroke patients when compared with healthy participants (p < 0.001, uncorrected). Patients with stroke showed a positive correlation between physical activity and the volume of the ipsilesional precentral gyrus and ipsilesional entorhinal area (p < 0.001, uncorrected). Conclusions: The amount of physical activity in patients with chronic hemiplegic stroke is associated with brain gray matter mass.