Effects of motor imagery training after chronic, complete spinal cord injury

Abstract

Abnormalities in brain motor system function are present following spinal cord injury (SCI) and could reduce effectiveness of restorative interventions. Motor imagery training, which can improve motor behavior and modulate brain function, might address this concern but has not been examined in subjects with SCI. Ten subjects with SCI and complete tetra-/paraplegia plus ten healthy controls underwent assessment before and after 7 days of motor imagery training to tongue and to foot. Motor imagery training significantly improved the behavioral outcome measure, speed of movement, in non-paralyzed muscles. Training was also associated with increased fMRI activation in left putamen, an area associated with motor learning, during attempted right foot movement in both groups, despite foot movements being present in controls and absent in subjects with SCI. This fMRI change was absent in a second healthy control group serially imaged without training. In subjects with SCI, training exaggerated, rather than normalized, baseline derangement of left globus pallidus activation. The current study found that motor imagery training improves motor performance and alters brain function in subjects with complete SCI despite lack of voluntary motor control and peripheral feedback. These effects of motor imagery training on brain function have not been previously described in a neurologically impaired population, and were similar to those found in healthy controls. Motor imagery might be of value as one component of a restorative intervention.

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

“…In line with these findings, mental practice, i.e. training using motor imagery, has been successfully applied in sports training and rehabilitation (Braun et al, 2006;Cramer et al, 2007;Feltz and Landers, 1983;Garrison et al, 2010;Jackson et al, 2001Jackson et al, , 2003Johnson-Frey, 2004;Lafleur et al, NeuroImage 62 (2012) [266][267][268][269][270][271][272][273][274][275][276][277][278][279][280] 2002; Müller et al, 2007;Page et al, 2001Page et al, , 2009. Of the three suggested approaches, motor imagery is probably the most widely used approach in motor rehabilitation, most likely due to its early use in sports training.…”

Upper alpha neurofeedback training over the motor cortex increases SMR desynchronization in motor tasks

“…While the results are promising, the decoding results are attenuated by the fact that the activation of the ipsilateral cortex is always less significant than the contralateral. In the three mentioned cases (healthy BCI illiterates, SCI and CVA patients), a possible solution could be to develop an intervention to improve or reconstruct the motor-related EEG activity prior to BCI usage [8]. In this direction, this paper proposes a preliminary study with five healthy subjects to build a possible intervention based on neurofeedback training.…”

Neuropathic Pain Post Spinal Cord Injury Part 1: Systematic Review of Physical and Behavioral Treatment

“…[38][39][40] The use of mental imagery by people with SCI stimulates activation in the motor cortex, as well as in individuals without SCI. 41 Visual imagery appears to be particularly useful for patients with cauda equina injuries. The type of SCI needs to be considered when treatment is planned.…”