Abstract
Post-stroke recovery was monitored with electrophysiological means. Twenty stroke patients were enrolled in a discrimination task using an oddball paradigm for somatosensory event related potentials. The disability was evaluated, both at time of admission and at discharge. During training event related potentials (ERPs) took place as a positive–negative complex between 105 and 160 ms. They were recorded all over the scalp, but the amplitude was lower on the affected hemisphere. The interval had a prognostic value, since short intervals were correlated with high Functional Independence Measure (FIM) score at dismission. Motor biofeedback was also used. The patients treated with the learning procedure had a better FIM recovery than a control group. In stroke patients, ERPs can be used both as an active tool in the framework of cortical remodeling following learning procedures as well as a monitoring tool of rehabilitation programs. Nowadays, stroke rehabilitation exploits neurobiological data.