Article

The aims of this study were to (1) investigate the effectiveness of
CIMT for children with hemiplegia, (2) determine the feasibility of using fMRI
for describing brain activity patterns before and after CIMT and (3) describe
changes in brain reorganization after CIMT in children with hemiplegia using
fMRI. DESIGN: Before and after study with one group. METHODS: Ten children aged
7-14 years (M = 11.0, SD = 2.5) with hemiplegia received CIMT over a 2-week
period using a before and after design. Clinical measures included the Melbourne
Assessment of Unilateral Upper Limb Function, upper limb kinematics and parent
questionnaire. Children were measured with fMRI before and after CIMT. RESULTS:
Findings showed that CIMT may be effective at improving upper limb function in
some, but not all children; those children with a moderate degree of impairment
seemed to benefit the most. fMRI findings correlated moderately with clinical
measures. CONCLUSION: Although unique challenges with fMRI data collection exist
for this population, it provides potentially valuable information to better
understand mechanisms of change after interventions such as CIMT.

Langue : ANGLAIS