Article

A TMS Study - Studies indicate that motor functions in patients with traumatic brain injury
(TBI) can be improved with action observation. It has been hypothesized that this
clinical practice relies on modulation of motor cortical excitability elicited by
passive action observation in patients with TBI, a phenomenon shown thus far only
in normal controls. The purpose of this work was to test this hypothesis and
characterize the modulation of motor cortex excitability during passive action
observation in patients with subacute moderate to severe TBI. We measured motor
evoked potentials induced by single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation to
the left primary motor cortex and recorded from the contralateral first dorsal
interosseus while 20 participants observed videos of static and moving right
index finger. Results were compared with those of 20 age-and gender-matched
healthy controls. As expected, greater excitability was elicited during moving
than static stimuli in healthy subjects. However, this was not observed in
patients with TBI. Modulation of motor excitability during action observation is
impaired in patients with TBI depending on motor dysfunction, lesion site, and
number of days postinjury. These preliminary results suggest a strategy to
identify patients in whom action observation might be a valuable
neurorehabilitative strategy.
CI - (c) The Author(s) 2014.

Langue : ANGLAIS