Article

The mirror neuron network provides a neural mechanism to prime the
motor system through action observation in stroke survivors. OBJECTIVE: To
examine whether action observation training with immediate physical practice
improves upper-limb function in chronic stroke.
METHODS: In a within-subject
design, 14 chronic stroke survivors were assessed at baseline, then participated
in 2 weeks of relaxation-sham plus physical practice (control) and reassessed.
Thereafter, they participated in 2 weeks of action observation training coupled
with immediate physical practice (intervention), followed by a final assessment.
Duration of each action observation video sequence (priming exposure) was 30 s
followed immediately by practice of the observed motor skill. RESULTS: There were
significant improvements in control and intervention phases on primary outcome
measures--Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer Motor Assessment (FMA) and Functional Test
of the Hemiparetic Upper Extremity (FTHUE)--as well as secondary outcome measures
of self-perceptions of arm use. Gains in the primary outcomes were greater during
the intervention phase (action observation + physical practice; FMA, 10.64; FTHUE
level, 0.79, and tasks, 1.57) than during the control phase (relaxation-sham plus
physical practice; FMA, 6.64; FTHUE level, 0.43, and tasks, 1.00). Interviews
with participants highlighted the added value of watching an actor perform the
movement before physically attempting to perform the action. CONCLUSIONS: This
study provides preliminary evidence of the additive value of action observation
plus physical practice over relaxation-sham plus physical practice. There appears
to be capacity for further recovery of upper-limb function in chronic stroke that
persists at least in the short term.
CI - (c) The Author(s) 2015.

Langue : ANGLAIS