REVIEW article
Front. Hum. Neurosci.
Sec. Motor Neuroscience
Volume 19 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2025.1615483
Excitation-Inhibition Imbalance in the Motor Control Network: A Key Factor in Post-Stroke Spasticity
Provisionally accepted
Shanshan Zeng
Lu Li
Lingying WuRan LiXukun Tang
Xiongxing SunShigao LinZhuxuan Liu
Jie TangQian Liu
Wu Dahua*
Le Xie*- The Affiliated Hospital, Hunan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
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Spasticity is a recognized motor dysfunction that frequently arises following a stroke and significantly impacts the quality of life of affected patients. It is characterized by involuntary muscle activation resulting from overexcitation of the stretch reflex.Currently, therapeutic options for post-stroke spasticity are limited, and the underlying pathological mechanisms remain inadequately understood. Evidence suggests that stretch reflex hyperactivity is attributable to a combination of factors, including abnormal supraspinal projections, imbalances within the intraspinal network, and peripheral muscle alterations. This review aimed to examine supraspinal projections, specifically addressing the imbalance between excitatory and inhibitory output signals within the neural network of the brain's motor control region, and to discuss the significant role of the associated nerve bundles in the disease's pathogenesis.
Keywords: Spasticity, Stroke, stretch reflex hyperactivity, excitation-inhibition imbalance, Neural excitability
Received: 23 Apr 2025; Accepted: 28 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zeng, Li, Wu, Li, Tang, Sun, Lin, Liu, Tang, Liu, Dahua and Xie. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Wu Dahua, The Affiliated Hospital, Hunan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
Le Xie, The Affiliated Hospital, Hunan Academy of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
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