Rhythm perception and production abilities and their relationship to gait after stroke

Publication date: Available online 8 February 2018
Source:Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
Author(s): Kara K. Patterson, Jennifer S. Wong, Svetlana Knorr, Jessica A. Grahn
ObjectivesTo assess rhythm abilities, describe their relationship to clinical presentation, and to determine if rhythm production independently contributes to temporal gait asymmetry post-stroke.DesignCross-sectional.SettingLarge urban rehabilitation hospital and university.ParticipantsIndividuals with subacute and chronic stroke (n=39) and data for healthy adults extracted from a pre-existing database (n=21).InterventionNot applicable.Main outcome measuresStroke group: National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS), Chedoke-McMaster Stroke Assessment (CMSA) leg and foot scales, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), rhythm perception and production (Beat Alignment Test; BAT) and spatiotemporal gait parameters were assessed. Temporal gait asymmetry (TGA) was quantified with the swing time symmetry ratio. Healthy group: age and beat perception scores assessed by BAT. Rhythm perception of the stroke group and healthy adults was compared with ANOVA. Spearman correlations quantified the relationship between rhythm perception and production abilities and clinical measures. Multiple linear regression assessed the contribution of rhythm production along with motor impairment and time post stroke to TGA.ResultsRhythm perception in the stroke group was worse than healthy adults (F(1,56) = 17.5, p=0.0001) Within the stroke group, rhythm perception was significantly correlated with CMSA leg (rs =0.33, p=0.04), and foot (rs =0.49, p=0.002) scores but not NIHSS or MOCA scores. The model for TGA was significant (F(3,35)=12.8, p<0.0001) with CMSA leg scores, time post-stroke and asynchrony of rhythm production explaining 52% of the variance.ConclusionsRhythm perception is impaired after stroke and temporal gait asymmetry relates to impairments in producing rhythmic movement. These results may have implications for the use of auditory rhythmic stimuli to cue motor responses post-stroke. Future work will explore brain responses to rhythm processing post-stroke.



http://ift.tt/2Hj9e4E