Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 9, 2026
The Impact of Motor Task Conditions on Goal-Directed Arm Reaching Kinematics and Trunk Compensation in Chronic Stroke Survivors
Published on: May 2, 2021
Self-speech-induced facilitation of simple reaching movements in persons with stroke
Kinsuk K Maitra1, Kal M Telage, Martin S Rice
1College of Health Science, Medical University of Ohio, Collier Building, Room 4405, 3015 Arlington Avenue, Toledo, Ohio 43614-5803, USA. kmaitra@mco.edu
Objective:
Occupational therapists are routinely involved in upper-extremity rehabilitation in persons with stroke. Recently we have reported that self-speech can be used to facilitate simple reach in young and older adults. The purpose of this study is to examine whether self-speech-induced facilitation of simple reach can be translated in persons with stroke.
Method:
Following a counterbalanced repeated-measure design, seven persons with right brain stroke performed reaching and placing a glass on a cabinet shelf under four concurrent speech conditions of vocalizing the word "yeah" with both hemiplegic and nonhemiplegic sides. These four conditions are self-vocalization, external vocalization, imaginary vocalization, and no vocalization. Consistent with our previous study, in this study we also recorded the movement kinematics of angular movement of the upper arm.
Results:
Reaching velocity was significantly higher under self-vocalization conditions compared to the reaching velocity under no vocalization or other vocalization conditions (p < .05). Motor performance in terms of velocity, nonhemiparetic side was significantly better than hemiparetic side (p < .05).
Conclusion:
The results suggest that self-speech can be used in facilitating movements in patients with stroke. When working with patients with right hemispheric stroke, therapists might explore possibilities of using patient's self-speech to enhance the quality of movement performance.
