title: Bilateral slowing of mentally simulated actions after stroke.
abstract: The ability to mentally simulate motor actions was studied in 25 patients with stroke. The duration of imagined and executed movements of the arm and leg was compared. Both executed and imagined movements took longer with the affected limbs than with the unaffected limbs. For both tasks, the duration of movements with the unaffected limbs was longer in the imagined than in the executed conditions, indicating a lack of temporal congruence on that side. Because the temporal uncoupling was found in the limbs contralateral to the intact hemisphere, we propose that this reflects a general slowing in motor imagery that is an indirect consequence of the lesion, rather than a deficit in movement representation within the unaffected hemisphere per se.
authors.affiliation: Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Rehabilitation and Social Integration (CIRRIS), IRDPQ, 525 Blvd Hamel east, Quebec City, P.Q., Canada, G1M 2S8. Francine.Malouin@rea.ulaval.ca
authors.forename: Francine
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Malouin
authors.forename: Carol L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: Johanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Desrosiers
authors.forename: Julien
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Doyon
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001132:Arm / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology*; D007866:Leg / Q000294:innervation / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D008570:Memory, Short-Term / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D009068:Movement / Q000502:physiology; D009069:Movement Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D013997:Time Factors