The Reaching Phase of Feeding and Self-Care Actions Optimizes Action Observation Effects in Chronic Stroke Subjects. (September 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Franceschini, Marco; Ottaviani, Marco; Romano, Paola; Goffredo, Michela; Pournajaf, Sanaz; Lofrumento, Margherita; Proietti, Stefania; Sterpi, Irma; Tricomi, Enrica; Tropea, Peppino; Corbo, Massimo; Fadiga, Luciano; Infarinato, Francesco
• Is Part Of: Neurorehabilitation & neural repair. Volume 36:Number 9(2022)
• Page Start: 574
• Page End: 586
• Publication Date: 2022-09
• Subjects: rehabilitation -- EEG -- stroke -- AOT; Nervous system -- Diseases -- Patients -- Rehabilitation -- Periodicals; Brain damage -- Patients -- Rehabilitation -- Periodicals; Spinal cord -- Wounds and injuries -- Patients -- Rehabilitation -- Periodicals; Nervous system -- Regeneration -- Periodicals; Neuroplasticity -- Periodicals; 616.804305
• DOI: 10.1177/15459683221110884
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1545-9683

Abstract

Background: The Action Observation Therapy (AOT) is a well-established post-stroke rehabilitation treatment based on the theoretical framework of the Mirror Neuron System (MNS) activation. However, AOT protocols are still heterogeneous in terms of video contents of observed actions. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings in stroke patients during the observation of different videos of task-specific upper limb movements, and to define which category of actions can elicit a stronger cortical activation in the observer's brain. Methods: Signals were analyzed from 19 chronic stroke subjects observing customized videos that represented 3 different categories of upper limb actions: Finalized Actions, Non-Finalized Actions, and Control Videos. The Event-Related Desynchronization in the µ and β bands was chosen to identify the involvement of the cerebral cortex: the area of the normalized power spectral density was calculated for each category and, deepening, for the reaching and completion sub-phases of Finalized Actions. For descriptive purposes, the time course of averaged signal power was described. The Kruskal–Wallis test ( P < .05) was applied. Results: The analysis showed a greater desynchronization when subjects observed Finalized Actions with respect to Non-Finalized in all recorded areas; Control videos provoked a synchronization in the same areas and frequency bands. The reaching phase of feeding and self-care actions evoked a greater suppression both in µ and β bands. Conclusions: The observation of finalized arm movements seems to elicit the strongest activation of the MNS in chronic stroke patients. This finding may help the clinicians to design future AOT-based stroke rehabilitation protocols. Clinical Trial Registration: Clinical Trial Registration—URL:http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier: NCT04047134.