title: Mental Practice Combined with Motor Rehabilitation to Treat Upper Limb Hemiparesis of Post-Stroke Patients: Clinical and Experimental Evidence.
abstract: Stroke is one of the major causes of disability in the world. Due to the extended lifetime of the world's population, the number of people affected by stroke has increased substantially over the last years. Stroke may lead to sensorimotor deficits, usually causing hemiplegia or hemiparesia. In order to reduce motor deficits and accelerate functional recovery, MP combined with motor rehabilitation was introduced to the rehabilitation process of post-stroke patients. Evidence has shown that MP combining with motor rehabilitation based on activities of daily living was more effective than conventional motor rehabilitation used per se. This combination proved very useful and effective, with significant results in improvement of motor deficits in post-stroke patients. However, further studies must be conducted to determine specific parameters, such as type of imagery, frequency or duration.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Panic and Respiration, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Physical Activity Neuroscience Laboratory, Physical Activity Sciences Postgraduate Program, Salgado de Oliveira University, Niterói, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Panic and Respiration, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Physical Activity Neuroscience Laboratory, Physical Activity Sciences Postgraduate Program, Salgado de Oliveira University, Niterói, Brazil.
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lattari
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Panic and Respiration, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Flávia
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Paes
authors.affiliation: Polytechnic Institute of Porto, School of Allied Health Sciences, Portugal.
authors.forename: Nuno B F
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Rocha
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Panic and Respiration, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Antonio E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Nardi
authors.affiliation: Unidad de Trastornos de Movimiento y Sueño, Hospital General Dr. Manuel Gea Gonzalez, Secretaria de Salud México DF, México.
authors.forename: Oscar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Arias-Carrión
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Gioia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Mura
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University Nanjing, China.
authors.forename: Ti-Fei
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health, Clinical and Molecular Medicine, University of Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Carta
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Panic and Respiration, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (IPUB/UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Campos
keywords: Hemiparesis; kinesthetic imagery; mental practice; stroke; visual imagery