Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 30, 2026
07:35
Author Spotlight: Rehabilitation of Stroke Patients With a Digital Occupational Training System
Published on: December 29, 2023
2.4K
Altered force perception in stroke survivors with spastic hemiplegia
1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, The University of Texas Health Science Center - Houston, Houston, TX, USA.
Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine
|November 10, 2015
Summary
Stroke survivors with spasticity experience altered force and effort perception. Spasticity and synergistic muscle activation contribute to these misperceptions during voluntary movements.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Rehabilitation Medicine
- Motor Control
Background:
- Spastic hemiparesis, a common impairment after stroke, affects voluntary muscle activation.
- Altered sensory feedback, including force perception, is a potential consequence of spasticity and abnormal muscle synergies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine how spasticity and involuntary synergistic muscle activation influence the perception of force during voluntary contractions in stroke survivors.
- To investigate asymmetries in force and effort perception between impaired and non-impaired limbs.
Main Methods:
- Eleven individuals with spastic hemiparesis post-stroke participated.
- Isometric elbow-flexion force-matching tasks were employed, involving reference force generation and subsequent matching without visual feedback.
- Trials included unilateral and bilateral exertion conditions to assess matching performance.
Main Results:
- Significant force and effort misperceptions were observed across various conditions, with notable asymmetries.
- When the non-impaired arm matched force, overestimation of both force and effort occurred, with better effort matching.
- When the impaired arm matched force, force was underestimated, and effort was overestimated, but force matching was more accurate than effort matching.
Conclusions:
- Stroke survivors with spasticity exhibit both force and effort misperceptions.
- Spasticity and associated synergistic muscle activation are likely contributors to these sensory misperceptions during voluntary movements in chronic stroke.
