Lasting amelioration of spatial neglect by treatment with neck muscle vibration even without concurrent training.
OBJECTIVE
It has been shown recently that neck muscle vibration in combination with an exploration training leads to lasting amelioration of spatial neglect. The present study evaluated whether vibration of the left posterior neck muscles alone has the potential to induce lasting reduction in spatial neglect.


METHODS
A multiple baseline design was used to control for spontaneous recovery or uncontrolled change caused by external events.


METHODS
Six patients with spatial neglect following right hemisphere stroke.


METHODS
Daily vibration treatment of the left posterior neck muscles for 20 minutes on 10 consecutive days. During vibration, patients did not perform any specific activities.


RESULTS
We observed significant amelioration of spatial neglect after terminating the vibration therapy. The improvement was found to be stable at follow-up testing about 1.4 years later.


CONCLUSIONS
Vibration of the left posterior neck muscles is a useful, non-invasive tool supplementing the established methods of spatial neglect treatment. It does not necessarily require the patient's co-operation, which is an important advantage especially in the early phases of rehabilitation.
Johannsen
Leif
L
Department of Cognitive Neurology, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany. Leif.Johannsen@uni-tuebingen.de
Ackermann
Hermann
H
Karnath
Hans-Otto
HO
D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009334:Neck Muscles; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010468:Perceptual Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D020127:Recovery of Function; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D014732:Vibration / Q000627:therapeutic use*