Ipsilesional Arm Aiming Movements After Stroke: Influence of the Degree of Contralesional Impairment

ABSTRACT

The authors examined the effects of the degree of impairment of the contralesional upper limb and the side of the hemispheric damage on ipsilesional upper limb performance in chronic stroke individuals. Right- and left-side stroke resulting in mild-to-severe impairment and healthy participants took part in simple and choice reaction time tasks involving aiming movements. The stroke individuals performed the aiming movements with the ipsilesional upper limb using a digitizing tablet to ipsi- or contralateral targets presented in a monitor. The global performance of the group with severe right hemispheric damage was worse than that of the other groups, indicating that the side of hemispheric damage and degree of motor impairment can adversely affect aiming movement performance.

Keywords:

• aiming
• arm
• hemiparesis
• motor control