The cognitive rehabilitation of limb apraxia in patients with stroke.
Apraxia is a higher level motor deficit that occurs when processing a goal-directed action. The apraxic deficit can manifest itself in absence of sensory input deficits or motor output deficits, neglect, frontal inertia or dementia. According to a clinical classification still largely in use, there are two main forms of limb apraxia: ideomotor (IMA) and ideational (IA), observed when a patient is required to imitate a gesture or use an object, respectively. In the present review, we examined only the cognitive treatments of both types of limb apraxia of a vascular aetiology. Despite the high prevalence of limb apraxia caused by left brain damage, and the fact that apraxia has been known for over a century, the literature regarding its rehabilitation is still very limited. This is partly due to the nature of the recovery from the deficit, and in part to the automatic-voluntary dissociation. Here we review those treatments that have proved most successful in helping patients to recover from limb apraxia.
Modulo di Neuropsicologia Riabilitativa-UMR-Dipartimento di Neuroscienze/Riabilitazione, Ospedale e Università di Ferrara, Italy.
Anna
A
Cantagallo
Manuela
M
Maini
Raffaella Ida
RI
Rumiati
D001072:Apraxias / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D015928:Cognitive Behavioral Therapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D020521:Stroke / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D000071939:Stroke Rehabilitation; D016896:Treatment Outcome