TOPIC

Neurological research

Everything we have read on neurological. Each paper is summarised from the full article rather than its abstract, so the limitations are in there too, and the funding wherever the paper declares it.

3,875 PAPERS · PAGE 64 OF 78 · NEWEST FIRST

• PTOTSLPOther2026Self-regulation resource model of body compassion in multiple sclerosis.Rehabilitation psychologyIn 799 adults with multiple sclerosis, feeling compassionate toward one's own body was linked to higher confidence managing symptoms. This confidence was associated with less drug use and better social participation, but not with exercise. These are cross-sectional links, not proof that compassion causes behavior change.
• PTRCT2025Aquatic Treadmill Walking Lowers Pelvic Motion Irregularity in Typically Developing and Children With Cerebral Palsy.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationAquatic treadmill walking made pelvic motion steadier than dry treadmill walking, and slower speeds made it steadier. Children with cerebral palsy and typically developing children responded similarly. The outcome was motion steadiness, not walking ability.
• PTOther2025Exploring the relationship between prefrontal cortex activation, standing balance, and fatigue in people post-stroke: A fNIRS study.NeuroRehabilitationNine people post-stroke showed greater prefrontal cortex activation during semi-tandem standing than double-leg standing, with no consistent link to fatigue scores. The small sample and lack of statistical analysis make these findings preliminary observations rather than evidence to change practice.
• PTOTCohort2025Sedentary behavior, physical activity, and health-related quality of life in adults with multiple sclerosis.Disability and rehabilitationDevice-measured physical activity, not sedentary time, was linked to better quality of life in adults with multiple sclerosis. Moderate-to-vigorous activity correlated with both physical and psychological well-being, while light activity correlated only with physical well-being.
• PTRCT2025Refining Maximal Heart Rate Estimation to Enhance Exercise Recommendations for Persons With Parkinson Disease.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationA Parkinson-specific formula using age and resting heart rate estimated maximal heart rate more accurately than age-only formulas, which overestimated it in 88% and 94% of participants.
• PTOTSurvey2026Validation of the Body Compassion Scale in multiple sclerosis.Rehabilitation psychologyThe Body Compassion Scale is a valid tool for adults with MS, measuring how they relate to their physical symptoms. Lower body compassion was linked to worse fatigue, pain, and mobility, while higher compassion associated with better resilience and mental health.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Impact of intensive, multidisciplinary neurorehabilitation on functional independence following pediatric acquired brain injury (ABI): A matched cohort study.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineIn matched pediatric ABI inpatient cohorts, higher-intensity and lower-intensity therapy did not differ for functional independence at discharge. Both groups improved. OT minutes were associated with better discharge scores, but this was observational and not proven causal.
• PTOTRCT2025Effects of kilohertz versus low-frequency electrical stimulation of the wrist extensors in patients after stroke: A randomized crossover trial.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationLow-frequency electrical stimulation was more efficient at producing force per milliamp than kilohertz stimulation in stroke patients, but both types resulted in similar force, discomfort, and fatigue.
• PTOTQualitative2025Community-Based Exercise Programming for Individuals with Parkinson's Disease: A Qualitative Study.NeuroRehabilitationParticipants valued PD-specific groups where instructors knew the disease and peers shared similar symptoms. They reported better mood and confidence, not just mobility. Transportation and cost were the main barriers, while feeling understood by others with PD was key to sticking with the program.
• PTRCT2025Is training speed an accurate predictor of who attains a minimal clinically important difference in the six-minute walk test in people with chronic stroke?Topics in stroke rehabilitationAverage treadmill speed did not predict which people with chronic stroke achieved a clinically meaningful improvement in the six-minute walk test. Clinicians cannot rely on training speed alone to determine who will respond to high-intensity walking interventions.
• PTOTMeta-Analysis2025Time Post-Stroke and Upper Extremity Stroke Motor Recovery Rehabilitation: A Meta-Analysis.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairUpper extremity rehabilitation interventions improved motor function scores in both early and late stroke phases, but gains were larger in the acute/subacute phase. High-frequency brain stimulation and constraint-induced therapy showed the biggest early benefits. Chronic-phase trials may underestimate treatment effects.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Effects of Internal and External Cues on Brain Activity and Gait in Parkinson's Disease: Findings From BARC-PD.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairInternal and visual cues improved gait speed and stride length more than auditory or tactile cues. Disease stage did not change who benefited, contradicting guidelines that reserve internal cues for early Parkinson's. The brain's response varied by cue type, suggesting different mechanisms for each strategy.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Course of Fatigue and Sleep After Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationFatigue and poor sleep remained high and stable for 18 months after moderate to severe brain injury. Physical tiredness and objectively measured sleep time decreased slightly. Mood problems consistently linked to worse fatigue and sleep quality, while processing speed did not.
• PTOTQualitative2026What Works (or Doesn't) in Return to Work after Physical Injury? A Qualitative Study on the Perspectives of Trauma Patients and Health Care Professionals on Barriers and Facilitators in Return to Work.Journal of occupational rehabilitationTrauma patients described hospital care as ignoring work entirely, leaving them to figure out reintegration alone. They valued therapists who actively protected them from overstretching and helped adjust schedules rather than just treating physical function.
• PTOTRCT2026Cross-lagged assessment between indices of leisure time physical activity and domains of quality of life after electrical stimulation training in persons with spinal cord injury: An exploratory trial.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationAfter 24 weeks of electrical stimulation exercise, leisure-time physical activity predicted improvements in psychological and social quality of life, but not physical or environmental quality of life. The study was too small to confirm these patterns or prove the exercise caused the changes.
• PTOTCohort2026Impact of COVID-19 positive status on outcome for individuals with stroke treated in acute inpatient rehabilitation.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationIn stroke rehabilitation, COVID-positive patients stayed longer, had lower mobility at admission and discharge, and were less likely to go home while receiving more therapy. Self-care gains, falls, and satisfaction were similar.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2026A socioecological approach to understanding and positively affecting the intersectionality between disability, race and ethnicity, climate change, and rehabilitation outcomes: A scoping review.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationClimate events disrupt rehab care for people with disabilities, especially those with mobility, temperature regulation, or ventilator needs. The review found no tested interventions, only expert recommendations for disaster planning, telerehabilitation, and policy advocacy to protect continuity of care.
• PTOTRCT2025Boot Camp: A Randomized Cross-Over Trial of Intensive Upper-Limb Rehabilitation After Chronic Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairIntensive group therapy improved arm movement and daily function more than usual care. However, only 74% of participants managed the full 90 hours. Clinicians should expect high dropout risk when prescribing this intensity to chronic stroke survivors.
• PTCohort2025Resting-state Alpha Reactivity Is Reduced in Parkinson's Disease and Associated With Gait Variability.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairPeople with Parkinson's showed reduced EEG alpha reactivity, linked to greater gait variability. However, this brain measure was not specific to Parkinson's; the difference disappeared when accounting for global cognitive scores.
• PTOTCase-Control2025Diffusion Tensor Imaging Findings in Cerebral Sensorimotor Areas in Patients After Spinal Cord Injury Correlate With Neurophysiological Deficits.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairPatients with chronic spinal cord injury showed lower fractional anisotropy in sensorimotor brain areas compared to healthy controls. In patients with tetraplegia, these brain changes correlated with worse leg movement and lower muscle response to magnetic stimulation.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Traumatic Brain Injury in Those With Preexisting Disability: Prevalence, Characteristics, and Psychosocial Function.The Journal of head trauma rehabilitationAdults with pre-existing disability who sustained a TBI with loss of consciousness reported significantly more days of poor mental and physical health and higher loneliness compared to those without such TBI. Employment rates did not differ between the groups.
• PTOTRCT2025Modulating Brain Excitability with Cardiovascular Exercise in Chronic Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairTwelve weeks of cycling improved brain excitability in the injured hemisphere for both high-intensity and moderate-intensity groups. Neither intensity was superior. Upper limb function did not change, so these brain measures are not yet proof of physical recovery.
• PTRCT2025Maintenance of Improvements in Walking Activity in Individuals with Chronic Stroke: Follow-Up From the PROWALKS Randomized Controlled Trial.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairNo group maintained walking gains better than another after the 12-week program. Daily steps fell in all groups from post-intervention to 6 and 12 months.
• PTOTOther2025Loss of Joint Individuation and Abnormal Synergy Post Stroke in Upper Limb Movements.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairStroke survivors showed severe loss of joint individuation, particularly in the wrist. When trying to move the wrist, the shoulder and elbow involuntarily coupled. Higher spasticity correlated with worse coupling. This quantifies the 'abnormal synergy' seen in clinical exams.
• PTOTSLPRCT2026Quantifying Exercise Intensity to Predict Changes in Walking Capacity in Individuals with Chronic Stroke.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationTraining speed predicted walking gains in chronic stroke, but heart rate did not. Walking at a patient's fastest speed yielded larger improvements than their normal pace. Clinicians should target speed, not just heart rate, to maximize endurance and velocity.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Mental and Physical Well-Being of Informal Stroke Caregivers Compared With Noncaregiver Family and Friends.Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitationInformal stroke caregivers had worse physical and mental health than non-caregiver family and friends 90 days after the stroke. They reported more depression symptoms, fatigue, and sleep difficulties, even after adjusting for the stroke survivor's severity and both groups' demographics.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Multidisciplinary rehabilitation and follow-up for children hospitalized with traumatic brain injury.Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicineOver half of children hospitalized with traumatic brain injury had new functional impairments requiring fresh referrals at their first follow-up clinic. Earlier inpatient therapy consultations were associated with discharge to home, but this was a single-center observational study.
• PTOTCohort2026The role of cognitive load on motor performance of the ipsilesional arm in stroke survivors with severe hemiparesis.Topics in stroke rehabilitationAdding cognitive load to a reaching task slowed reaction time and worsened accuracy for all participants. Those with right hemisphere damage moved less efficiently than those with left hemisphere damage, but only when the task became mentally demanding.
• PTCohort2025A 16-year follow-up of walking function, fatigue, and pain in adults aged 34-65 years with spastic cerebral palsy.Journal of rehabilitation medicineOver 16 years, adults with spastic cerebral palsy walked with more gait deviations and slower speed. Walking distance did not change. Fatigue stayed high, pain improved overall, especially in unilateral CP.
• PTRCT2025Effects of 10-Hz rTMS over the leg motor cortex using a double-cone coil on lower limb motor recovery in subacute stroke: a randomised, double-blind, sham-controlled study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding 10-Hz rTMS over the leg motor cortex to daily rehabilitation improved lower-limb movement and balance in subacute stroke. The leg movement score was 1.5 points higher than sham at three weeks, and more patients reached a meaningful gain.
• PTMeta-Analysis2025Effectiveness of interventions in increasing physical activity of inpatients after stroke: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Clinical rehabilitationActivity feedback or extra physiotherapy may increase inpatient activity after stroke, but evidence is very low. No clear function or quality-of-life benefit was shown, and extra physiotherapy may increase falls.
• PTOTSLPQualitative2025How important are working relationships for stroke self-management? A qualitative study with healthcare professionals in community stroke teams.Clinical rehabilitationClinicians said trust, clear expectations, shared goals and family networks helped working relationships and self-management, but they also often led goal setting and confused self-management with ongoing rehab.
• PTOTRCT2025Forced-Rate Aerobic Cycling Improves Locomotor Function and Gait Biomechanics in Individuals With Chronic Stroke: A Randomized Controlled Trial.American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitationForced-rate aerobic cycling combined with upper extremity task practice did not significantly improve treadmill gait speed compared to task practice alone. However, the cycling group showed significant gains in overground walking distance and specific gait mechanics like paretic step length and hip power.
• PTOTOther2025The added value of sensor-based tests in explaining the variance in walking and ADL independency after stroke: An exploratory study.Clinical rehabilitationConventional tests like the Berg Balance Scale explained far more variance in ADL independence and walking ability after stroke than sensor-based measures. Sensors added minimal predictive value, suggesting existing clinical assessments remain sufficient for monitoring recovery.
• PTOTQualitative2025Acceptability of a programme for safer mobility (INTEGRATE): Perspectives of people with Parkinson's disease and their care-partners.Clinical rehabilitationPeople with Parkinson's and care-partners found a home-based fall prevention programme acceptable because therapists tailored it to their specific impairments and involved them in decision-making. Barriers included fatalistic beliefs, stigma about home modifications, and difficulty forming new habits.
• PTOTSLPOther2026Associations among aerobic physical activity, mild traumatic brain injury history, and health-related quality of life in military service members and Veterans: A LIMBIC-CENC study.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationMilitary service members and veterans who met aerobic exercise guidelines reported better quality of life than inactive peers. This benefit held regardless of how many mild traumatic brain injuries they had sustained. Exercise is associated with better outcomes, but this study did not prove that starting exercise causes improvement.
• PTOTSLPPilot2025Transcutaneous spinal stimulation paired with visual feedback facilitates retention of improved weight transfer toward the affected side in people post-stroke.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding spinal stimulation to visual feedback during treadmill walking helped people post-stroke keep more weight on their affected leg after the session ended. Visual feedback alone improved weight transfer briefly, but the gain faded once the feedback stopped.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Validity, safety, usability, and user experience of virtual reality gamified home-based exercises in stroke.Clinical rehabilitationPhysiotherapists and stroke survivors found three of five VR games safe and usable for home rehab. Users rated Basketball and Flowers as engaging but noted all games lacked clear setup instructions and guidance for therapists to tailor exercises to patient needs.
• PTOTSLPCohort2025Differential effects of sport type on brain versus orthopedic injury and sports benefits in the adolescent brain cognitive development study.Brain injurySoccer and American football linked to higher mild brain injury risk in 9-10 year olds. Climbing showed higher brain injury risk than broken bones. Sports participation associated with better behavior and cognition in children with prior brain injury, though causality cannot be determined.
• PTOTRCT2025Nigral stimulation for freezing of gait: kinematic gait parameters inform optimization of stimulation frequency.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitationAdding nigral stimulation to standard subthalamic stimulation did not improve freezing of gait more than subthalamic stimulation alone. Individual responses varied widely. However, wearable sensors tracking stride length and swing time correlated strongly with clinical improvement, suggesting kinematics can guide personalized programming.
• PTOTCohort2025Rates of Employment and Return to Work After Spinal Cord Lesion Onset in Israel.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationEmployment after spinal cord lesion in Israel was 33.1%, lower than Western rates. Prior employment, education, and daily function predicted work, not injury level. Patients cited motivation and support as aids, but disability and pain as barriers.
• PTOTSLPOther2025Building Bridges: Establishing a Multiple Sclerosis Rehabilitation Research and Clinical Knowledge Mobilization Strategy.NeuroRehabilitationForty-three stakeholders agreed on three priorities for MS rehabilitation in Canada: creating a best-practice guideline, building knowledge mobilization tools for clinicians, and establishing a national network. Five key topics were selected: disease course, fatigue, mobility, mood, and cognition.
• PTCohort2025The effect of short-term treatment with botulinum toxin a on muscle stiffness in stroke patients: an exploratory study.Journal of rehabilitation medicineBotulinum toxin injections reduced calf muscle stiffness in stroke patients at 6 weeks, but stiffness increased again by 3 months. There was no significant difference in stiffness between the start and the 3-month mark. Individual goals were only moderately linked to stiffness changes.
• PTOTCohort2025The Weak Relationship Between Ankle Proprioception and Gait Speed After Stroke: A Robotic Assessment Study.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairAnkle proprioception showed only a weak relationship with gait speed after stroke. One measure of dynamic error correlated with walking distance, but most tests found no significant link. Motor impairment did not correlate with proprioceptive error.
• PTOther2025Transition Aged Individuals With Cerebral Palsy Have Larger Clinical Gains With Visual Performance Feedback During Power Training.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationDuring 8-week leg power training, young people with cerebral palsy who received real-time speed feedback had larger gains in strength, leg power, and ability to change walking speed than those without feedback.
• PTOTCohort2025Deficient Muscle Coordination Patterns of Reactive Stepping Responses in People With Chronic Stroke.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairPeople with chronic stroke showed poorer muscle coordination and shorter, less stable steps when stepping with the paretic leg, especially sideways or backward. Training should prioritize these directions. If paretic stepping is too difficult, consider training non-paretic cross-stepping as an alternative.
• PTOTSLPRCT2025Digital Cueing With Laser Shoes Does Not Improve Walking in Parkinson's Disease: Evidence Across Disease Severity and Freezing Status.Neurorehabilitation and neural repairLaser shoes did not improve walking in Parkinson's disease. Instead, they slowed gait speed, reduced arm swing, and increased variability across all disease stages and freezing statuses. This pattern may raise fall risk, so these devices should be used with caution.
• PTOTSLPPilot2025Carnitine Deficiency in Rehabilitation Ward Individuals and its Association With Activities of Daily Living: A Pilot Retrospective Observational Study.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationIn this pilot study, 8.5% of rehabilitation ward patients had carnitine deficiency. These patients had significantly lower FIM motor scores on admission than those without deficiency, suggesting a link between carnitine status and physical function.
• PTOTSLPSystematic Review2025Exploring the Impact of Muscle Vibration Therapy in Neurologic Rehabilitation: A Systematic Review.Archives of rehabilitation research and clinical translationMuscle vibration therapy can improve motor control, reduce spasticity, and relieve pain across neurologic conditions. It works best as an addition to conventional rehabilitation, such as physiotherapy or robotic training. Evidence is moderate, with many small studies and methodological limitations.
• PTOTSLPCohort2026Overall outcome, functioning, and disability in older adults 3 to 14 years after traumatic brain injury.PM & R : the journal of injury, function, and rehabilitationYears after TBI, many older adults kept the same overall outcome, while some improved and some worsened. Mild and moderate injury often meant better independence, but assistance, mobility aids, swallowing problems, and smell or taste change were still reported.