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ERIC Number: EJ730595
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Jul
Pages: 4
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0278-2626
EISSN: N/A
Stimulation through Simulation? Motor Imagery and Functional Reorganization in Hemiplegic Stroke Patients
Johnson-Frey, Scott H.
Brain and Cognition, v55 n2 p328-331 Jul 2004
A key factor influencing reorganization of function in damaged neural networks of the adult brain is stimulation. How to stimulate motor areas of patients with paralyses is a formidable challenge. One possibility is to use internal movement simulations, or motor imagery, as an alternative to conventional therapeutic interventions that require voluntary limb movements. Before this alternative can be entertained, two preliminary issues must be resolved. First, do internal movement simulations involve the same neural circuits as comparable overt actions? Second, are motor-impaired populations capable of imagining movements they can no longer perform? Here, I show that under specific conditions, answers to these questions are affirmative. Further, I discuss preliminary evidence that internally simulating movements may induce functional reorganization of the contralesional hand representation of a chronic, densely hemiplegic, cerebral vascular accident (CVA) patient.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A