Assessing Impairments in Visuomotor Adaptation After Stroke

Motor impairment in the arms is common after stroke and many individuals participate in therapy to improve function. It is assumed that individuals with stroke can adapt and improve their movements using feedback that arises from movement or is provided by a therapist. Here we investigated visuomotor adaptation in individuals with sub-acute and chronic stroke.

We examined the impact of the stroke-affected arm (dominant or non-dominant), time post-stroke, and relationships with clinical measures of motor impairment and functional independence.

Participants performed reaching movements with their arm supported in a robotic exoskeleton. We rotated the relationship between the motion of the participant's hand and a feedback cursor displayed in their workspace. Outcome measures included the amount that participants adapted their arm movements and the number of trials they required to adapt.

Participants with stroke (n = 36) adapted less and required more trials to adapt than controls (n = 29). Stroke affecting the dominant arm impaired the amount of adaptation more than stroke affecting the non-dominant arm. Overall, 53% of participants with stroke were impaired in one or more measures of visuomotor adaptation. Initial adaptation was weakly correlated with time post-stroke, and the amount of adaptation correlated moderately with clinical measures of motor impairment and functional independence.

Our findings reveal impairments in visuomotor adaptation that are associated with motor impairment and function after stroke. Longitudinal studies are needed to understand the relationship between adaptation and recovery attained in a therapy setting.