Impairments in Cognitive Control Using a Reverse Visually Guided Reaching Task Following Stroke.
Catherine R Lowrey, Sean P Dukelow, Stephen D Bagg and 2 others
PMID 35576434WHAT IT FOUND
Most stroke participants were impaired on a reverse reaching task, including with their less affected arm.
A simple reaching test missed reverse-reaching problems in 27.1% of participants with the less affected arm.
Key findings
0167.8% of stroke participants were impaired on reverse reaching with both arms.
0227.1% were impaired on reverse reaching but not on simple reaching with the less affected arm.
03At about 6 months, 0% were impaired on simple reaching with the less affected arm, but 57% were still impaired on reverse reaching.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
The stroke group had 59 participants and was tested in the subacute phase, about 1 month after stroke. One participant could not complete reverse reaching on the affected arm. The longitudinal group had only 14 participants. The authors note that poor reverse-reaching scores can come from many different brain regions, so the task does not identify the cause. They also note the task captures specific aspects of cognition rather than general cognition. The reliability subset included 42 controls and 10 stroke participants, and one measure, Posture Speed, had a poor reliability value of 0.41. The assessment used a specialized robot platform, while the authors note tablet systems can be cheaper, easier to set up, and portable for bedside or home use.
Declared interests
A co-author is co-founder and chief scientific officer of BKIN Technologies, which commercializes the Kinarm robot used in the study. The work was supported by the Ontario Research Foundation, a GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Chair in Neuroscience held by a co-author, and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that reverse reaching is a treatment for stroke or that a poor score proves a cognitive problem. The study only measured performance on a task, and the authors note poor scores can come from motor, sensory, or cognitive disruptions, so the cause cannot be separated.