Studying brain pathways in arm recovery after stroke
Tests arm movement training in adults with stroke who have trouble moving an arm.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Substrates for Post-Stroke Arm Rehabilitation
Key facts
- Where
- Boston, United StatesSee the site
Where in United States
- Laboratory for Translational Neurorecovery, Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery, Massachusetts General HospitalBoston, United StatesTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Massachusetts General Hospital
- Trial code
- NCT06998485
- Record updated
- 11 March 2026
- Original description
Difficulty moving the arm is very common and a major cause of disability after stroke. Although rehabilitation therapies (i.e., occupational and physical therapy) are the most common treatments used to improve arm motor function, it remains unknown how therapy actually changes brain pathways after stroke. This project seeks to generate fundamental knowledge about brain pathways that allow people to move their arm after stroke and how these pathways change with rehabilitation; we expect this knowledge to translate to new therapies to reduce stroke-related disability.Read full original descriptionShow less
Defining the Neurological Substrates of Proximal Upper Extremity Motor Control and Recovery After Stroke
Difficulty moving the arm is very common and a major cause of disability after stroke. Although rehabilitation therapies (i.e., occupational and physical therapy) are the most common treatments used to improve arm motor function, it remains unknown how therapy actually changes brain pathways after stroke. This project seeks to generate fundamental knowledge about brain pathways that allow people to move their arm after stroke and how these pathways change with rehabilitation; we expect this knowledge to translate to new therapies to reduce stroke-related disability.
We plan to enroll N = 50 patients with moderate to severe difficulty moving their arm after ischemic or hemorrhage stroke during the subacute period (3 to 6 months post stroke) into either 30 hours over 6 weeks of Arm Basis Training (a protocolized form of occupational therapy targeting motor control) or usual care. We will perform kinematic motor assessments, neuroimaging, and neurophysiology before and after therapy in order to test the hypothesis that intensive, target training improves arm motor control and induces corresponding anatomical and physiological changes of associated brain pathways.
Inclusion: first time unilateral ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke occurring within the 3-6 months; upper extremity motor impairment as measured by the Upper Extremity Fugl-Meyer Assessment (UE-FMA) Score <= 44; ability to participate in a 6-week intensive upper extremity intervention in English as determined by a licensed occupational therapist.
Exclusion: bilateral stroke; pre-stroke upper extremity injury or conditions that limited use; visual or auditory impairment limiting ability to participate in study procedures; known history of uncontrolled seizure disorder; unstable medical status affecting functional status; significant aphasia (NIHSS sub-item 9 > 1) or cognitive (NIHSS 1a or 1b or; 1c > 1) deficits; known or expected inability to maintain follow-up through the study intervention and post- assessment; contraindications to MRI; contraindications to TMS.