Involvement of motor learning in the recovery from functional deficits after stroke

2021 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 17H02128
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Rehabilitation science/Welfare engineering
• Research Institution: Waseda University
• Principal Investigator: Osu Rieko 早稲田大学, 人間科学学術院, 教授 (60374112)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 大高 洋平 藤田医科大学, 医学部, 教授 (00317257) ; 井澤 淳 筑波大学, システム情報系, 准教授 (20582349)
• Project Period (FY): 2017-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Keywords: 脳卒中 / 意思決定 / 非侵襲脳刺激 / tDCS

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Rehabilitation restores the function of the paretic hand/arm caused by stroke to a certain degree. However, patients often lose the recovered function because they do not prefer to use the paretic hand in daily life. This learned non-use of the paretic hand is a significant factor preventing functional recovery. Therefore, we examined how we can intervene in the use of the paretic hand rather than the function. Experimental results with healthy participants revealed that transcranial direct current stimulation of the posterior parietal cortex, which is thought to be involved in hand choice, can add a bias to hand choice without the participant's awareness. Specifically, when a cathode was placed on the left posterior parietal cortex to suppress brain activity, and an anode was placed on the right posterior parietal cortex to activate brain activity, the left-hand choice probability increased, and the reaction time became shorter.

Free Research Field

認知神経科学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

片麻痺は脳卒中後の代表的な後遺症の一つです。退院後の生活の中で、健常側をばかりを使ってしまう「麻痺手の不使用」は、回復を阻害する要因とされています。しかし、回復期リハビリテーション病棟においては、「機能」の訓練をする一方、「使用」に対する訓練はこれまで実施されてきていませんでした。「使用」に介入することで、回復した機能を再び失ってしまうのを防いで機能を維持することができれば、リハビリテーションの効率を大きく改善し、患者のQOLを向上させると共に、医療費の削減にもつながることが期待できます。