Increased thalamocortical connectivity from the affected thalamus to the unaffected hemisphere in a stroke patient

At 10 weeks after onset when she started rehabilitation, brain MRI showed a leukomalatic lesion in the right fronto-parieto-occipito-temporal lobes, subcortical white mater, and midbrain [Figure 1]A. The patient showed a vegetative state, with a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 6 (eye opening: 1, best verbal response: 1, and best motor response: 4) (full score: 15), Coma Recovery Scale-Revised score of 3 (auditory: 0, visual: 0, motor: 2, verbal: 1, communication: 0, and arousal: 0) (full score: 23), Mini-Mental State Examination score of non-checkable (full score: 30), Functional Ambulation Category score of 0 (full score: 5) and Motricity Index score of 21 (right extremities), and 14 (left extremities) (full score: 100) (Teasdale and Jennett, 1974; Folstein et al., 1975; Demeurisse et al., 1980; Cunha et al., 2002; Giacino et al., 2004). [...]the phenomenon that the thalamocortical connections from the thalamic ILN to the opposite hemisphere has not been clarified in patients with disorders of consciousness as well as normal subjects (Jang et al., 2014; Jang and Kwon, 2019). [...]studies on the anatomy and function of the thalamocortical connections from the thalamic ILN to the opposite hemisphere in both normal and pathologic conditions should be warranted. Approval for the study was obtained from the Institutional Review Board of Yeungnam University Hospital (approval No.