Correlation Analysis Between Brain Lesions and Sensorimotor Impairments in Individuals With Stroke (Preliminary Study)

Healthy Control Group Stroke patient subjects

Inclusion Criteria:

• Inclusion criteria for healthy subjects are:

  • medically stable;
  • 18 - 99 years of age;
  • able to hear the instructions given during the study

Inclusion criteria for stroke patients are:

• at least 6 months post-stroke;
• medically stable;
• 18 - 99 years of age;
• subcortical or cortical infarct confirmed with MRI;
• Mini-mental State Exam > 24/30 (Folstein et al., 1975);
• able to hear the instructions given during the study;
• able to comprehend the instructions given during the study;
• able to commit time to participate in a 6-12-weeks rehabilitation program

Exclusion Criteria:

Exclusion criteria for healthy subjects are:

• having ever experienced a stroke or another brain injury or illness related to the brain that has lasting effects or effects experienced at the moment of recruitment;
• severe sensory impairments such that different movements of the finger, hand or wrist are not reliably felt;
• contractures in tested arm that hinder persons from keeping the outstretched arm in a relaxed position;
• interfering comorbidities (e.g. fracture, cancer, peripheral neuropathy);
• exhibit contra-indications to enter the magnetic field of the 3T (pacemakers, metal parts in the body etc);
• pregnant or nursing mother;
• adults lacking capacity to consent

Exclusion criteria for stroke patients are:

• insular or cerebellar infarcts/brain lesions;
• unilateral spatial neglect, identified by a standard neuropsychological assessment (Bell's test (score/35, Gauthier et al., 1989);
• aphasia;
• apraxia (TULIA, Vanbellingen et al., 2011);
• severe sensory impairments such that different movements of the finger, hand or wrist are not reliably felt;
• contractures in the hemiplegic arm that hinder patients from keeping the outstretched arm in a relaxed position;
• interfering comorbidities (e.g. fracture, cancer, peripheral neuropathy);
• patients currently receiving therapy for their hemiplegic arm, the latter in order to avoid confounding treatment effects;
• exhibit contra-indications to enter the magnetic field of the 3T (pacemakers, metal parts in the body etc);
• pregnant or nursing mother;
• adults lacking capacity to consent