Use of motor abundance on the coordination of posture and reaching movements in stroke individuals

• Grant number: 12/19943-0
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: May 01, 2013
• End date: April 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy
• Principal Investigator: Sandra Maria Sbeghen Ferreira de Freitas
• Grantee: Sandra Maria Sbeghen Ferreira de Freitas
• Host Institution: Pró-Reitoria de Pós-Graduação, Pesquisa e Extensão. Universidade Cidade de São Paulo (UNICID). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Many activities of daily living require the execution of arm reaching movements on upright position (e.g., reaching and grasping a glass on a high shelf). Although these tasks seem simple, they require: a) adequate control of arm reaching movements to reach the object (focal movement) and b) postural adjustments to minimize the effects of perturbations generate by focal movement on body balance. Stroke individuals present several changes in the execution of arm reaching movements when performing it with the arm ipsilateral to the brain lesion in a seated position. In addition, the capacity to maintain the balance in the upright standing, due to adequate functioning of postural control system, is reduced in these individuals, in particular when the brain lesion is on the right hemisphere. Altogether, these alterations could be associated with the dependency of the stroke individuals to perform certain daily life activities while standing as well as the increased risk of falls. The adequate control of both arm reaching movements and the upright standing can be performed by the combination of several joint motions due to the large number of degrees of freedom of joint motion (motor abundance). However, if stroke individuals are able to take advantage of this motor abundance during arm reaching movements in a standing position has not been investigated yet. Thus, the aims of the present project are: a) to investigate the adjustments of upright posture when stroke individuals perform arm reaching movements to a certain and uncertain target (i.e., the target could move up or down after the movement starts); b) to investigate whether such adjustments are related to the hemisphere of the brain lesion in function of the side of the body (ipsilateral to the brain lesion) performing the reaching movements; and, c) if the motor abundance is used by stroke individuals to perform both the arm reaching movements and control the upright standing. The results of the present study will provide additional insights about the hemispheric specialization in the control of reaching movements on upright standing and, in the future, they can contribute in the elaboration of strategies to the training and rehabilitation of many functions needed to perform the reaching movements on standing. (AU)

Scientific publications

(5)

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

DE SOUZA COSTA GARBUS, RAFAELA BARROSO; NARDINI, ALETHEA GOMES; ALOUCHE, SANDRA REGINA; SBEGHEN FERREIRA DE FREITAS, SANDRA MARIA. Ipsilesional arm reaching movements are not affected by the postural configuration adopted by individuals with stroke. HUMAN MOVEMENT SCIENCE, v. 80, DEC 2021. (12/19943-0)

LIMA, CAMILA ASTOLPHI; ALOUCHE, SANDRA REGINA; SCHIAVINATO BALDAN, ALESSANDRA MARIA; DE FREITAS, PAULO BARBOSA; SBEGHEN FERREIRA FREITAS, SANDRA MARIA. Influence of target uncertainty on reaching movements while standing in stroke. HUMAN MOVEMENT SCIENCE, v. 64, p. 283-295, APR 2019. (12/19943-0, 11/05584-5)

PRADO-RICO, JANINA MANZIERI; ALOUCHE, SANDRA REGINA; SODRE, ARIANI CARDOSO; DE SOUZA COSTA GARBUS, RAFAELA BARROSO; SBEGHEN FERREIRA DE FREITAS, SANDRA MARIA. Effect of force magnitude of touch on the components of postural sway. GAIT & POSTURE, v. 65, p. 15-19, SEP 2018. (10/15360-4, 12/19943-0)

GARBUS, RAFAELA B. S. C.; PRADO-RICO, JANINA M.; NARDINI, ALETHEA G.; FREITAS, SANDRA M. S. F.. Immediate Effects of Arm Reaching Training in Standing on Postural Control Differ between Right and Left Stroke Individuals. JOURNAL OF STROKE & CEREBROVASCULAR DISEASES, v. 30, n. 9, SEP 2021. (12/19943-0)

VIEGAS OLIVEIRA, DANIELLE SILVA; NARDINI, ALETHEA GOMES; ALOUCHE, SANDRA REGINA; DE SOUZA COSTA GARBUS, RAFAELA BARROSO; SBEGHEN FERREIRA DE FREITAS, SANDRA MARIA. Target height affects the symmetry of the postural adjustments after (but not prior) the onset of reaching movements in upright standing. Neuroscience Letters, v. 666, p. 181-185, FEB 14 2018. (12/19943-0, 14/26459-2)