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Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Compensatory Limb Use and Behavioral Assessment of Motor Skill Learning Following Sensorimotor Cortex Injury in a Mouse Model of Ischemic Stroke
Published on: July 10, 2014
What do motor "recovery" and "compensation" mean in patients following stroke?
Mindy F Levin1, Jeffrey A Kleim, Steven L Wolf
1School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University and Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation, Jewish Rehabilitation Hospital, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. mindy.levin@mcgill.ca
Abstract:
There is a lack of consistency among researchers and clinicians in the use of terminology that describes changes in motor ability following neurological injury. Specifically, the terms and definitions of motor compensation and motor recovery have been used in different ways, which is a potential barrier to interdisciplinary communication. This Point of View describes the problem and offers a solution in the form of definitions of compensation and recovery at the neuronal, motor performance, and functional levels within the framework of the International Classification of Functioning model.

