Vibration-Induced Illusory Movement Task Can Induce Functional Recovery in Patients With Subacute Stroke

In recent years, mental practice (MP), which involves repetitive motor imagery (MI), has been applied in rehabilitation to actively enhance exercise performance. MP is a method that involves repetitive MI, consciously evoking the intentions and content of the exercise without actual exercise. Combining actual exercise with MP promotes the development of exercise skills. However, it is possible that the MI recall ability differs greatly between individuals, affecting the therapeutic effect. In contrast, the vibration-induced illusory movement (VIM) task acts as a method to induce a motor illusion by somatosensory stimuli without actual motor. VIM, actual movement, and MI are thought to share a common neural basis in the brain. Therefore, it was hypothesized that the VIM task would complement the differences in MI recall in individual patients with hemiplegic stroke and may be a new treatment to enhance MI recall. Accordingly, in this study, we investigated the therapeutic effects of the VIM task in patients with hemiplegic stroke. In Study I, the therapeutic effect of the VIM task in 14 patients with post-stroke hemiplegia was evaluated by motor function assessment. In Study II, treatment effects were investigated by examining the ability of the same group of patients to recall MI and by neurophysiological examination of the electroencephalogram (EEG) during MI recall in four patients who consented to the study. Motor function and MI were assessed four times: before the intervention, after occupational therapy, after the VIM task (which used the motor illusion induced by tendon vibration), and one month after acceptance of therapy. Compared with occupational therapy, the VIM task showed a statistically significant improvement in upper limb function and MI ability. In addition, we found an increase in event-related desynchronization intensity during MI in the affected hemisphere only after the VIM task. It is possible that the VIM task facilitates motor function and MI. VIM task implementation of MI recall variability between individuals, which is a problem in mental practice, possible to increase the effectiveness of the brain-machine interface.