Functional magnetic resonance imaging and control over the biceps muscle after intercostal-musculocutaneous nerve transfer.

Object: Recent progress in the understanding of cerebral plastic changes that occur after an intercostal nerve (ICN)-musculocutaneous nerve (MCN) transfer motivated a study with functional magnetic resonance (fMR) imaging to map reorganization in the primary motor cortex.

Methods: Eleven patients with traumatic root avulsions of the brachial plexus were studied. Nine patients underwent ICN-MCN transfer to restore biceps function and two patients were studied prior to surgery.