title: Action observation in infancy: implications for neuro-rehabilitation.
abstract: Action observation therapy has been found to be effective in improving hand motor function in both adults with stroke and children with unilateral cerebral palsy. We here propose a provocative hypothesis arguing that the same therapy might be effective in very early intervention in infants with unilateral or asymmetric brain damage, but through a different underlying mechanism. If the activation of motor networks induced in infancy by action observation enhances the excitability of the damaged sensorimotor cortex, it could also accelerate the maturation of the corticospinal tract and the adaptive shaping of the spinal motor circuits. This hypothesis should be explored carefully in prospective studies and, if confirmed, might support the use of action observation therapy at a much earlier time than experimented so far.
authors.affiliation: SMILE Lab, Department of Developmental Neuroscience, Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, Italy.|Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Burzi
authors.affiliation: SMILE Lab, Department of Developmental Neuroscience, Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Gessica
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tealdi
authors.affiliation: Queensland Cerebral Palsy and Rehabilitation Research Centre, School of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Roslyn N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Boyd
authors.affiliation: SMILE Lab, Department of Developmental Neuroscience, Stella Maris Scientific Institute, Pisa, Italy.|Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guzzetta
mesh_terms: D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000628:therapy*; D061345:Early Medical Intervention / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D059167:Mirror Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D066191:Sensorimotor Cortex / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*