This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Pohl, P S Articles by Stiers, W Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Pohl, P S Articles by Stiers, W Pubmed/NCBI databases Medline Plus Health Information Stroke Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Implicit learning of a motor skill after mild and moderate stroke

J M McDowd

University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas, USA

D Filion

University of Missouri - Kansas City, Kansas, USA

L G Richards

North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Gainesville, Florida; University of Florida, Kansas, USA

W Stiers

University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, Kansas, USA

Objective: To determine if adults in the subacute phase post moderate or mild stroke could learn a motor task under implicit practice conditions.

Design: Non-randomized, between-group design.

Setting: Subjects' homes.

Subjects: Sample of convenience of 15 adults with moderate stroke, 22 adults with mild stroke, and 32 age-matched controls. Stroke severity was determined using the Orpington Prognostic Scale.

Intervention: Practice of movements to target switches in two conditions, a repeated series and a random series. Practice was organized into a single session of six blocks of 80 trials such that blocks 1 and 2 were the random series, blocks 3 and 4 the repeated series, block 5 the random series, and block 6 the repeated series. Explicit knowledge of the two conditions was not provided.

Main measures: The mean response time and the coefficient of variation were calculated for each block for each group.

Results: Regardless of group, participants had a slower response time when practice was unexpectedly switched from the repeated to random condition. The response time and coefficient of variation for those with moderate stroke were persistently greater than those with mild stroke and controls, who were not different from each other.

Conclusions: Implicit motor learning is preserved in adults with moderate stroke and may be a viable strategy for teaching motor skills in rehabilitation. The clinician should be aware that subjects with moderate stroke, even when performing with the less affected upper extremity, have significantly slower and more variable movements than those with mild stroke and controls.

Clinical Rehabilitation, Vol. 20, No. 3, 246-253 (2006)
DOI: 10.1191/0269215506cr916oa


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				C. F Siengsukon and L. A Boyd Does Sleep Promote Motor Learning? Implications for Physical Rehabilitation Physical Therapy, April 1, 2009; 89(4): 370 - 383. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. A. Boyd, B. M. Quaney, P. S. Pohl, and C. J. Winstein Learning Implicitly: Effects of Task and Severity After Stroke Neurorehabil Neural Repair, October 1, 2007; 21(5): 444 - 454. [PDF]

				G. Alon, A. F. Levitt, and P. A. McCarthy Functional Electrical Stimulation Enhancement of Upper Extremity Functional Recovery During Stroke Rehabilitation: A Pilot Study Neurorehabil Neural Repair, May 1, 2007; 21(3): 207 - 215. [Abstract] [PDF]

				P. S Pohl, J. M McDowd, D. Filion, L. G Richards, W. Stiers, and P. Kluding Task Switching After Stroke Physical Therapy, January 1, 2007; 87(1): 66 - 73. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]