Effects of Hemispheric Stroke Localization on the Reorganization of Arm Movements within Different Mechanical Environments
Laura Pellegrino,
Martina Coscia,
Camilla Pierella,
Psiche Giannoni,
Amel Cherif,
Maddalena Mugnosso,
Lucio Marinelli,
Maura Casadio
Affiliations
Laura Pellegrino
Department Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering (DIBRIS), University of Genoa, 16126 Genoa, Italy
Martina Coscia
Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Translational Neuroengineering, Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, 1015 Lausanne, Switzerland
Camilla Pierella
Department Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering (DIBRIS), University of Genoa, 16126 Genoa, Italy
Psiche Giannoni
Department Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering (DIBRIS), University of Genoa, 16126 Genoa, Italy
Amel Cherif
Department Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering (DIBRIS), University of Genoa, 16126 Genoa, Italy
Maddalena Mugnosso
Department Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering (DIBRIS), University of Genoa, 16126 Genoa, Italy
Lucio Marinelli
Department of Neurosciences, Rehabilitation, Ophthalmology, Genetics, and Maternal and Children’s Sciences (DINOGMI), University of Genova, 16126 Genoa, Italy
Maura Casadio
Department Informatics, Bioengineering, Robotics and Systems Engineering (DIBRIS), University of Genoa, 16126 Genoa, Italy
This study investigated how stroke’s hemispheric localization affects motor performance, spinal maps and muscle synergies while performing planar reaching with and without assistive or resistive forces. A lesion of the right hemisphere affected performance, reducing average speed and smoothness and augmenting lateral deviation in both arms. Instead, a lesion of the left hemisphere affected the aiming error, impairing the feedforward control of the ipsilesional arm. The structure of the muscle synergies had alterations dependent on the lesion side in both arms. The applied force fields reduced the differences in performance and in muscle activations between arms and among populations. These results support the hypotheses of hemispheric specialization in movement control and identify potential significant biomarkers for the design of more effective and personalized rehabilitation protocols.
