Clinical Assessment of Motor Imagery After Stroke

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.

[1]  Julien Doyon,et al.  Reliability of mental chronometry for assessing motor imagery ability after stroke. , 2008, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[2]  Manuel Rodriguez,et al.  Adapting movement planning to motor impairments: The motor-scanning system , 2007, Neuropsychologia.

[3]  Scott M Lewis,et al.  Comparison of Finger Tracking Versus Simple Movement Training via Telerehabilitation to Alter Hand Function and Cortical Reorganization After Stroke , 2007, Neurorehabilitation and neural repair.

[4]  C. Richards,et al.  The Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire (KVIQ) for Assessing Motor Imagery in Persons with Physical Disabilities: A Reliability and Construct Validity Study , 2007, Journal of neurologic physical therapy : JNPT.

[5]  Edward T. Bullmore,et al.  The relationship between motor deficit and hemisphere activation balance after stroke: A 3T fMRI study , 2007, NeuroImage.

[6]  J. Baron,et al.  Motor Imagery: A Backdoor to the Motor System After Stroke? , 2006, Stroke.

[7]  T. Kimberley,et al.  Neural Substrates for Motor Imagery in Severe Hemiparesis , 2006, Neurorehabilitation and neural repair.

[8]  D. Wade,et al.  The effects of mental practice in stroke rehabilitation: a systematic review. , 2006, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[9]  B. Dobkin,et al.  Motor Cortex Activation During Treatment May Predict Therapeutic Gains in Paretic Hand Function After Stroke , 2006, Stroke.

[10]  Gary F. Egan,et al.  Evolution of Brain Activation with Good and Poor Motor Recovery after Stroke , 2006, Neurorehabilitation and neural repair.

[11]  P. Brugger,et al.  What disconnection tells about motor imagery: evidence from paraplegic patients. , 2005, Cerebral cortex.

[12]  J. Decety,et al.  Effect of brain and spinal cord injuries on motor imagery , 2005, European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience.

[13]  Magdalena Sabaté,et al.  Brain lateralization of motor imagery: motor planning asymmetry as a cause of movement lateralization , 2004, Neuropsychologia.

[14]  R. Dickstein,et al.  Motor imagery for gait rehabilitation in post-stroke hemiparesis. , 2004, Physical therapy.

[15]  Chetwyn C. H. Chan,et al.  Mental imagery for promoting relearning for people after stroke: a randomized controlled trial. , 2004, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[16]  Jean Lorant,et al.  Validation de la traduction française du Movement Imagery Questionnaire-Revised (MIQ-R) , 2004 .

[17]  Heidi Johansen-Berg,et al.  Neuroimaging in Stroke Recovery: A Position Paper from the First International Workshop on Neuroimaging and Stroke Recovery , 2004, Cerebrovascular Diseases.

[18]  Julien Doyon,et al.  Bilateral slowing of mentally simulated actions after stroke , 2004, Neuroreport.

[19]  Julien Doyon,et al.  Training Mobility Tasks after Stroke with Combined Mental and Physical Practice: A Feasibility Study , 2004, Neurorehabilitation and neural repair.

[20]  Julien Doyon,et al.  Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair Stroke: a Case Report the Efficacy of Combined Physical and Mental Practice in the Learning of a Foot-sequence Task after Neurorehabilitation and Neural Repair Additional Services and Information For , 2022 .

[21]  H. C. Dijkerman,et al.  Does motor imagery training improve hand function in chronic stroke patients? A pilot study , 2004, Clinical rehabilitation.

[22]  S. McDonough,et al.  The adjunctive role of mental practice in the rehabilitation of the upper limb after hemiplegic stroke: a pilot studya , 2004, Clinical rehabilitation.

[23]  C. Richards,et al.  Working memory and mental practice outcomes after stroke. , 2004, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[24]  Validation de la version française du Movement Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ). , 2004 .

[25]  J. A. Stevens,et al.  Using motor imagery in the rehabilitation of hemiparesis. , 2003, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[26]  Stephen M. Smith,et al.  Correlation between motor improvements and altered fMRI activity after rehabilitative therapy. , 2002, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[27]  S. H. Johnson,et al.  Intact Motor Imagery in Chronic Upper Limb Hemiplegics: Evidence for Activity-Independent Action Representations , 2002, Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

[28]  Alan C. Evans,et al.  Motor Learning Produces Parallel Dynamic Functional Changes during the Execution and Imagination of Sequential Foot Movements , 2002, NeuroImage.

[29]  M. Bonnard,et al.  Interaction between different sensory cues in the control of human gait , 2002, Experimental Brain Research.

[30]  S. Page,et al.  Mental practice combined with physical practice for upper-limb motor deficit in subacute stroke. , 2001, Physical therapy.

[31]  C. Richards,et al.  Potential role of mental practice using motor imagery in neurologic rehabilitation. , 2001, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[32]  S. Page,et al.  A randomized efficacy and feasibility study of imagery in acute stroke , 2001, Clinical rehabilitation.

[33]  J. Duysens,et al.  Significance of load receptor input during locomotion: a review. , 2000, Gait & posture.

[34]  Scott H. Johnson,et al.  Imagining the impossible: intact motor representations in hemiplegics , 2000, Neuroreport.

[35]  J. Decety,et al.  Neural mechanisms subserving the perception of human actions , 1999, Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

[36]  C. Hall,et al.  Measuring movement imagery abilities: A revision of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire. , 1997 .

[37]  A. Sirigu,et al.  The Mental Representation of Hand Movements After Parietal Cortex Damage , 1996, Science.

[38]  I. Balaguer,et al.  Factor Analysis and Reliability of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire , 1994, Perceptual and motor skills.

[39]  A. Campos,et al.  A Factor Analytic Study of Two Measures of Mental Imagery , 1990 .

[40]  L. J. Chapman,et al.  The measurement of foot preference , 1987, Neuropsychologia.

[41]  M. Jeannerod.  Mechanisms of visuomotor coordination: A study in normal and brain-damaged subjects , 1986, Neuropsychologia.

[42]  Anne R. Isaac,et al.  An instrument for assessing imagery of movement: The Vividness of Movement Imagery Questionnaire (VMIQ). , 1986 .

[43]  C. Hall,et al.  The measurement of imagery ability , 1985 .