TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2020//
TI  - Neural correlates of within-session practice effects in mild motor impairment after stroke: a preliminary investigation
JO  - Experimental brain research
A1  - Regan, Elizabeth
A1  - Fridriksson, Julius
A1  - Schaefer, Sydney Y.
A1  - Rorden, Christopher
A1  - Bonilha, Leonardo
A1  - Lingo VanGilder, Jennapher
A1  - Stewart, Jill Campbell
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - While the structural integrity of the corticospinal tract (CST) has been shown to support motor performance after stroke, the neural correlates of within-session practice effects are not known. The purpose of this preliminary investigation was to examine the structural brain correlates of within-session practice effects on a functional motor task completed with the more impaired arm after stroke. Eleven individuals with mild motor impairment (mean age 57.0 ± 9.4 years, mean months post-stroke 37.0 ± 66.1, able to move ≥ 26 blocks on the Box and Blocks Test) due to left hemisphere stroke completed structural MRI and practiced a functional motor task that involved spooning beans from a start cup to three distal targets. Performance on the motor task improved with practice (p = 0.004), although response was variable. Baseline motor performance (Block 1) correlated with integrity of the CST (r = - 0.696) while within-session practice effects (change from Block 1 to Block 3) did not. Instead, practice effects correlated with degree of lesion to the superior longitudinal fasciculus (r = 0.606), a pathway that connects frontal and parietal brain regions previously shown to support motor learning. This difference between white matter tracts associated with baseline motor performance and within-session practice effects may have implications for understanding response to motor practice and the application of brain-focused intervention approaches aimed at improving hand function after stroke.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0014-4819
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00221-020-05964-y
ID  - ref1
ER  -