This Article Free Full Text (Free OnlineFirst PDF) All Versions of this Article: 1545968307313499v1 22/4/330    most recent Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Malouin, F. Articles by Doyon, J. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Malouin, F. Articles by Doyon, J. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Clinical Assessment of Motor Imagery After Stroke

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: Francine.Malouin{at}rea.ulaval.ca.

	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.

First published on March 6, 2008, doi:10.1177/1545968307313499

Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair 2008;22:330.

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 1, 2008


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				F. Malouin, C. L. Richards, A. Durand, M. Descent, D. Poire, P. Fremont, S. Pelet, J. Gresset, and J. Doyon Effects of Practice, Visual Loss, Limb Amputation, and Disuse on Motor Imagery Vividness Neurorehabil Neural Repair, June 1, 2009; 23(5): 449 - 463. [Abstract] [PDF]

				S. J. Page, J. P. Szaflarski, J. C. Eliassen, H. Pan, and S. C. Cramer Cortical Plasticity Following Motor Skill Learning During Mental Practice in Stroke Neurorehabil Neural Repair, May 1, 2009; 23(4): 382 - 388. [Abstract] [PDF]