Article

PURPOSE: To characterise upper limb performance of each hand (intra-limb
coordination) and interlimb coordination on a functional, sequential bimanual
task in patients with left hemiparesis and age-matched controls. METHOD: Fourteen
patients with left hemiparesis (age: 60.01 +/- 9.09 years) and 13 adults without
neurological impairments (age: 59.14 +/- 10.59 years) were instructed to
reach-to-grasp a jar with the affected/left limb and to unscrew the jar cap with
the unaffected/right limb. Reaching and grasping kinematics were analysed for
intra-limb coordination and bimanual synchronisation and temporal correlation for
interlimb coordination. RESULTS: The patients showed significantly less
efficient, less smooth, and less forceful movement and spent significantly more
time for on-line error correction with the affected hand than the healthy
controls. Interlimb coordination was disrupted at movement onset but was
preserved at movement end in the hemiparetic patients. CONCLUSIONS: The major
deficits of the left hemiparetic patients involved heavy reliance on feedback
control with the affected hand, and poor bimanual coordination at movement onset,
which might be specifically retrained during stroke rehabilitation. Preservation
ofinterlimb coordination at movement end in stroke patients suggested that they
retained flexibility in response to the impaired temporal performance of the
affected hand to achieve the end goal.

Langue : ANGLAIS