Clinical assessment of motor imagery after stroke.

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
The aim of this study was to investigate:
(1) the effects of a stroke on motor imagery vividness as measured by the Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire (KVIQ-20); (2) the influence of the lesion side; and (3) the symmetry of motor imagery.

METHODS:
Thirty-two persons who had sustained a stroke, in the right (n = 19) or left (n = 13) cerebral hemisphere, and 32 age-matched healthy persons participated. The KVIQ-20 assesses on a 5-point ordinal scale the clarity of the image (visual scale) and the intensity of the sensations (kinesthetic scale) that the subjects are able to imagine from the first-person perspective.

RESULTS:
In both groups, the visual scores were higher (P = .0001) than the kinesthetic scores and there was no group difference. Likewise, visual scores remained higher than kinesthetic scores irrespective of the lesion side. The visual scores poststroke were higher (P = .001) when imagining upper limb movements on the unaffected side than those on the affected side. When focusing on the lower limb only, however, the kinesthetic scores were higher (P = .001) when imagining movements of the unaffected compared to those on the affected side.

CONCLUSIONS:
The vividness of motor imagery poststroke remains similar to that of age-matched healthy persons and is not affected by the side of the lesion. However, after stroke motor imagery is not symmetrical and motor imagery vividness is better when imagining movements on the unaffected than on the affected side, indicating an overestimation possibly related to a hemispheric imbalance or a recalibration of motor imagery perception.

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Author information

Author/s: Malouin, Francine (F); Richards, Carol L (CL); Durand, Anne (A); Doyon, Julien (J);

Affiliation: Department of Rehabilitation, Laval University, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Francine.Malouin(-atsign-)rea.ulaval.ca

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Neurorehabilitation and neural repair (Neurorehabil Neural Repair), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: -2008 Jul-Aug; vol 22 (issue 4) : pp 330-40

Dates: Created 2008/07/29; Completed 2008/09/19;

PMID: 18326057, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Aged
Cerebral Cortex - physiopathology
Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; etiology
Disability Evaluation
Extremities - innervation; physiopathology
Functional Laterality - physiology
Humans
Imagery (Psychotherapy) - methods

Imagination - physiology
Kinesthesis - physiology
Middle Aged
Movement Disorders - etiology; psychology; rehabilitation
Physical Therapy Modalities - psychology
Psychomotor Performance - physiology
Questionnaires
Stroke - complications; psychology; rehabilitation
Visual Perception - physiology

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