Abstract
The anatomic and functional changes associated with crossed cerebellar diaschisis (CCD) were examined in chronic brain injured patients to determine if there is evidence that injury to a neuroanatomic tract, such as the corticopontocerebellar tract, could explain the cerebellar diaschisis, and to determine if arm movements would effect the CCD. Four brain injured patients and four normal subjects had MR scans and PET scans using fluorodeoxyglucose. The PET scans were obtained during rest and during left and right arm motor tasks. The PET scans were repeated after six months to determine the reproducibility of the scan findings.
Forty-one PET scans were analyzed. Significant crossed cerebellar diaschisis was present in all fourbrain injured patients. One control patient had crossed cerebellar diaschisis, but the cerebellar asymmetry was more subtle than noted in the brain injured patients. MR scans demonstrated atrophy of the cerebral peduncle ipsilateral to the major cerebral cortical injury. One patient had bilateral cerebral cortical and cerebral peduncle atrophy. These findings support the hypothesis that injury to the corticopontocerebellar tract may, in part, be responsible for crossed cerebellar diaschisis in chronic brain injured subjects.