title: Sensorimotor plasticity after music-supported therapy in chronic stroke patients revealed by transcranial magnetic stimulation.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Several recently developed therapies targeting motor disabilities in stroke sufferers have shown to be more effective than standard neurorehabilitation approaches. In this context, several basic studies demonstrated that music training produces rapid neuroplastic changes in motor-related brain areas. Music-supported therapy has been recently developed as a new motor rehabilitation intervention.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In order to explore the plasticity effects of music-supported therapy, this therapeutic intervention was applied to twenty chronic stroke patients. Before and after the music-supported therapy, transcranial magnetic stimulation was applied for the assessment of excitability changes in the motor cortex and a 3D movement analyzer was used for the assessment of motor performance parameters such as velocity, acceleration and smoothness in a set of diadochokinetic movement tasks. Our results suggest that the music-supported therapy produces changes in cortical plasticity leading the improvement of the subjects' motor performance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings represent the first evidence of the neurophysiological changes induced by this therapy in chronic stroke patients, and their link with the amelioration of motor performance. Further studies are needed to confirm our observations.
authors.affiliation: Cognition and Brain Plasticity Group, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-, l'Institut d'Investigació Biomèdica de Bellvitge, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain. julian.amengual@gmail.com
authors.forename: Julià L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Amengual
authors.forename: Nuria
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rojo
authors.forename: Misericordia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Veciana de Las Heras
authors.forename: Josep
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Marco-Pallarés
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Grau-Sánchez
authors.forename: Sabine
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.forename: Lucía
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vaquero
authors.forename: Montserrat
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Juncadella
authors.forename: Jordi
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Montero
authors.forename: Bahram
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Mohammadi
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rubio
authors.forename: Nohora
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Rueda
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Duarte
authors.forename: Carles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Grau
authors.forename: Eckart
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Altenmüller
authors.forename: Thomas F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Münte
authors.forename: Antoni
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Fornells
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003710:Demography; D005385:Fingers / Q000503:physiopathology; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D009068:Movement; D009147:Music Therapy; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D020521:Stroke / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000628:therapy*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation