Bimanual Motor Skill Learning in Acute Stroke

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

REAplan®: motor skill learning with the REAplan® rehabilitation robot, to be performed with both arms

Dextrain Manipulandum®: motor skill learning with the Dextrain Manipulandum® dexterity tool to be performed with both hands

Study summary

The subacute phase of stroke provides a window into how a lesion perturbs sensorimotor functions prior to reorganisation driven by plasticity and neurorehabilitation. The recovery from motor impairment has been extensively studied, but it is currently unknown whether motor skill learning (MSkL) is enhanced or impaired during acute stroke, especially bimanual motor skill learning (bim-MSkL), which likely requires more motor-attentional-cognitive resources than unimanual MSkL.

The goals of this project are: to determine the neural substrates critical to achieve proximal and distal bimanual motor skill learning (bim-MSkL) by specifying whether (sub)acute stroke to different brain areas (cortical and subcortical) induce specific deficits in bimanual and/or distal bim-MSkL, which behavioral components are involved in bim-MSkL, and whether damage to the motor, sensory and inter-hemispheric pathways specifically impairs proximal and/or distal bim-MSkL.

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• bimanual Speed/Accuracy Trade-off (bi-SAT), bimanual Speed/Accuracy Trade-off measured by the REAplan® robot — change between baseline (Day 1) and after training (Day 3)
  bimanual Speed/Accuracy Trade-off: mathematical computation of the relationship between speed and accuracy
• bimanual Coordination factor (bi-CO), bimanual Coordination factor measured by the REAplan® robot — change between baseline (Day 1) and after training (Day 3)
  bimanual Coordination factor, mathematical measure of the phase coherence between speeds of both arms
• bi-Force, bimanual force measured by the REAplan® robot — change between baseline (Day 1) and after training (Day 3)
  bimanual forces, forces exerted in the wrong direction by each arm (Newtons)
• Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), bimanual root mean square error measured by the Dextrain Manipulandum — change between baseline (Day 1) and after training (Day 3)
  Tracking error between the actual applied force and the target force
• Bimanual Dexterity Coordination Index measured by the Dextrain Manipulandum — change between baseline (Day 1) and after training (Day 3)
  bimanual Coordination factor, mathematical measure of the phase coherence between speeds of both thumb-index clamps

Trial sites (2)

More University Hospital of Mont-Godinne trials in Belgium

Other trials for the same condition