Action observation has a positive impact on rehabilitation of motor deficits after stroke

Cortical activation during executed, imagined, observed, and passive wrist movements in healthy volunteers and stroke patients

“…While frequently ventral premotor cortices have been associated with movement observation (Decety and Grèzes, 1999), the presently observed more dorsal premotor activations have been reported before particularly for the observation of wrist and hand movements (Buccino et al, 2001;Morin and Grezes, 2008;Sakreida et al, 2005). Interestingly, the presently observed areas were part of a network showing increased activation in response to rehabilitation using action observation (Ertelt et al, 2007). The absence of more primary sensorimotor activations is in line with early reports (Decety et al, 1994) and may be explained by the chosen task instruction.…”

“…patients watch another person or a video clip of a moving limb. It has been argued that movement observation activates the human mirror neuron system, which consists of neurons responding to both, the overt execution of an action and the observation of that same action performed by somebody else (Ertelt et al, 2007;Gazzola and Keysers, 2009;Iacoboni and Mazziotta, 2007;Pomeroy et al, 2005;Rizzolatti and Sinigaglia, 2010;Roosink and Zijdewind, 2010). Initial evidence suggests that movement observation can also be successfully applied in rehabilitation (Celnik et al, 2008;Ertelt et al, 2007;Stefan et al, 2008).…”

Brain‐computer interfaces for post‐stroke motor rehabilitation: a meta‐analysis

“…However, approximately 20–30% of all stroke survivors do not qualify for CIMT or other rehabilitation strategies. For those patients, mirror therapy,6 motor imagery,7, 8 action observation therapy,9 electrical stimulation (e.g., noninvasive brain stimulation,10, 11, 12 or vagus nerve stimulation13) and robot‐aided sensorimotor stimulation14 have been investigated as possible alternatives over the last several years. Driven by advances in other technological areas such as virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR), robotics, invasive and noninvasive brain‐computer interfaces (BCIs),15 as well as pharmacology,16, 17 post‐stroke motor rehabilitation is now a fast growing, emerging field.…”

Clinical Feasibility of Action Observation Based on Mirror Neuron System on Walking Performance in Post Stroke Patients

“…However, these trainings must be made independent walking. To overcome such disadvantages, several investigators have suggested the use of action observation in physical rehabilitation since it is easy to conduct and is a safe means of promoting motor recovery after stroke 5) . Action observation can enhance the beneficial effects of motor training on motor memory formation after stroke 5) .…”

“…To overcome such disadvantages, several investigators have suggested the use of action observation in physical rehabilitation since it is easy to conduct and is a safe means of promoting motor recovery after stroke 5) . Action observation can enhance the beneficial effects of motor training on motor memory formation after stroke 5) . Functional-imaging studies of humans have further demonstrated that some motor cortical regions are active during observation of actions made by others, following the same rules of motor representation 6) .…”