Article

OBJECTIVE: To assess temporal congruence (the difference in performance-time and
time to imagine) between the sub-tasks of the Expanded Timed Up and Go (ETUG) and
imagined ETUG (iETUG) tests in patients with hemiparesis following unilateral
hemispheric stroke, and to compare the results with those for with healthy
subjects. DESIGN: Case-controlled study. Subject/patients: Twenty patients with
chronic stroke and 20 healthy subjects. METHODS: TUG, ETUG and iETUG test
performance times were recorded for all participants. Temporal congruence was
calculated with the following formula: (ETUG-iETUG)/[(ETUG+iETUG)/2]*100.
RESULTS: Patients' performances were slower than those of healthy subjects for
all 5 sub-tasks of the TUG, ETUG and iETUG tests. However, there was no
significant difference in temporal congruence between healthy subjects and
patients. Intragroup analysis showed significant differences between the executed
and the imagined conditions for both groups for the "walking", "turn around" and
"sitting" phases (healthy subjects p = 0.01, p = 0.03, p = 0.03, and patients p =
0.01, p = 0.003, p = 0.003, respectively). CONCLUSION: Temporal congruence was
similar for healthy subjects and patients for all sub-tasks of the ETUG test.
Moreover, temporal congruence was reduced for the same sub-tasks of the ETUG test
in patients and healthy subjects. This suggests that the motor imagery involved
the same cerebral structures in both groups, probably including the cerebellum,
since it was intact in all patients.

Langue : ANGLAIS