Hemispheric especialization: an analysis of reach and grasp training in post-stroke patients
Stroke; functional laterality; rehabilitation; motor learning
Introduction: The concept that each cerebral hemisphere is specialized for particular functions of movement control is already a consensus in the literature. Unilateral brain lesions that compromise the left hemisphere have different clinical conditions from those that compromise the right hemisphere. This is because each hemisphere has its functional specializations to promote better processing of neural information. Based on the assumption above, this study aims to verify if there is a discrepancy between the ARAT, BBT and Reach assessment scales per injured hemisphere, as well as to evaluate if the motor learning with the task planning task of reach and hold in post-stroke individuals differs between the injured hemispheres. Materials and methods: This was a randomized, single-blind study of patients who had had a stroke for at least six months and had unilateral involvement. Sixteen patients (eight with right and six left lesions) were selected, who were evaluated in the movements of grip and bilateral reach. Ethics and dissemination: This study was approved by the Ethics and Research Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences of Trairi under the protocol number 1.978.586.