Sensorimotor Plasticity after Music-Supported Therapy in Chronic Stroke Patients Revealed by Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Julià L. Amengual, Nuria Rojo, Misericordia Veciana de las Heras, Josep Marco-Pallarés, Jennifer Grau-Sánchez, Sabine Schneider, Lucía Vaquero, Montserrat Juncadella, Jordi Montero, Bahram Mohammadi, Francisco Rubio, Nohora Rueda, Esther Duarte, Carles Grau, Eckart Altenmüller, Thomas F. Münte, Antoni Rodríguez-Fornells

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

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.Methods and 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.Conclusion: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.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Article numbere61883
JournalPloS one
Volume8
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Apr 17 2013
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences
  • General

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