Dr Penelope McNulty
PUBLICATIONS
Improved Kinematics and Motor Control in a Longitudinal Study of a Complex Therapy Movement in Chronic Stroke.
Hesam-Shariati N, Trinh T, Thompson-Butel AG, Shiner CT, Redmond SJ, McNulty PA
A Longitudinal Electromyography Study of Complex Movements in Poststroke Therapy. 1: Heterogeneous Changes Despite Consistent Improvements in Clinical Assessments.
Hesam-Shariati N, Trinh T, Thompson-Butel AG, Shiner CT, McNulty PA
Poststroke weakness on the more-affected side may arise from reduced corticospinal drive, disuse muscle atrophy, spasticity, and abnormal coordination. This study investigated changes in muscle activation patterns to understand therapy-induced improvements in motor-function in chronic stroke compared to clinical assessments and to identify the effect of motor-function level on muscle activation changes. Electromyography (EMG) was recorded from five upper limb muscles on the more-affected side of 24 patients during early and late therapy sessions of an intensive 14-day program of Wii-based Movement Therapy (WMT) and for a subset of 13 patients at 6-month follow-up. Patients were classified according to residual voluntary motor capacity with low, moderate, or high motor-function levels. The area under the curve was calculated from EMG amplitude and movement duration. Clinical assessments of upper limb motor-function pre- and post-therapy included the Wolf Motor Function Test, Fugl-Meyer Assessment and Motor Activity Log Quality of Movement scale. Clinical assessments improved over time (p < 0.01) with an effect of motor-function level (p < 0.001). The pattern of EMG change by late therapy was complex and variable, with differences between patients with low compared to moderate or high motor-function levels. The area under the curve (p = 0.028) and peak amplitude (p = 0.043) during Wii-tennis backhand increased for patients with low motor-function, whereas EMG decreased for patients with moderate and high motor-function levels. The reductions included movement duration during Wii-golf (p = 0.048, moderate; p = 0.026, high) and Wii-tennis backhand (p = 0.046, moderate; p = 0.023, high) and forehand (p = 0.009, high) and the area under the curve during Wii-golf (p = 0.018, moderate) and Wii-baseball (p = 0.036, moderate). For the pooled data over time, there was an effect of motor-function (p = 0.016) and an interaction between time and motor-function (p = 0.009) for Wii-golf movement duration. Wii-baseball movement duration decreased as a function of time (p = 0.022). There was an effect on Wii-tennis forehand duration for time (p = 0.002), an interaction of time and motor-function (p = 0.005) and an effect of motor-function level on the area under the curve (p = 0.034) for Wii-golf. This study demonstrated different patterns of EMG changes according to residual voluntary motor-function levels, despite heterogeneity within each level that was not evident following clinical assessments alone. Thus, rehabilitation efficacy might be underestimated by analyses of pooled data.
A Longitudinal Electromyography Study of Complex Movements in Poststroke Therapy. 2: Changes in Coordinated Muscle Activation.
Hesam-Shariati N, Trinh T, Thompson-Butel AG, Shiner CT, McNulty PA
Fine motor control is achieved through the coordinated activation of groups of muscles, or "muscle synergies." Muscle synergies change after stroke as a consequence of the motor deficit. We investigated the pattern and longitudinal changes in upper limb muscle synergies during therapy in a largely unconstrained movement in patients with a broad spectrum of poststroke residual voluntary motor capacity. Electromyography (EMG) was recorded using wireless telemetry from 6 muscles acting on the more-affected upper body in 24 stroke patients at early and late therapy during formal Wii-based Movement Therapy (WMT) sessions, and in a subset of 13 patients at 6-month follow-up. Patients were classified with low, moderate, or high motor-function. The Wii-baseball swing was analyzed using a non-negative matrix factorization (NMF) algorithm to extract muscle synergies from EMG recordings based on the temporal activation of each synergy and the contribution of each muscle to a synergy. Motor-function was clinically assessed immediately pre- and post-therapy and at 6-month follow-up using the Wolf Motor Function Test, upper limb motor Fugl-Meyer Assessment, and Motor Activity Log Quality of Movement scale. Clinical assessments and game performance demonstrated improved motor-function for all patients at post-therapy (p < 0.01), and these improvements were sustained at 6-month follow-up (p > 0.05). NMF analysis revealed fewer muscle synergies (mean ± SE) for patients with low motor-function (3.38 ± 0.2) than those with high motor-function (4.00 ± 0.3) at early therapy (p = 0.036) with an association trend between the number of synergies and the level of motor-function. By late therapy, there was no significant change between groups, although there was a pattern of increase for those with low motor-function over time. The variability accounted for demonstrated differences with motor-function level (p < 0.05) but not time. Cluster analysis of the pooled synergies highlighted the therapy-induced change in muscle activation. Muscle synergies could be identified for all patients during therapy activities. These results show less complexity and more co-activation in the muscle activation for patients with low motor-function as a higher number of muscle synergies reflects greater movement complexity and task-related phasic muscle activation. The increased number of synergies and changes within synergies by late-therapy suggests improved motor control and movement quality with more distinct phases of movement.
Two common tests of dexterity can stratify upper limb motor function after stroke.
Thompson-Butel AG, Lin GG, Shiner CT, McNulty PA
This post hoc analysis examined a suite of upper limb functional assessment tools to test the hypothesis that motor function of survivors of stroke can be stratified using 2 simple tests of manual dexterity despite the heterogeneity of the population. Two simple unambiguous and objective tests of gross (BBT) and fine (grooved pegboard test) manual dexterity discriminated 3 groups of motor function ability for a heterogeneous group of patients after stroke.
Bilateral priming before wii-based movement therapy enhances upper limb rehabilitation and its retention after stroke: a case-controlled study.
Shiner CT, Byblow WD, McNulty PA
This study investigated the effect of bilateral priming before Wii-based Movement Therapy to improve rehabilitation after stroke. Bilateral priming before Wii-based Movement Therapy led to a greater magnitude and retention of improvement compared to control, especially measured with the FMA. These data suggest that bilateral priming can enhance the efficacy of Wii-based Movement Therapy, particularly for patients with low motor function after a stroke.
The efficacy of Wii-based Movement Therapy for upper limb rehabilitation in the chronic poststroke period: a randomized controlled trial.
McNulty PA, Thompson-Butel AG, Faux SG, Lin G, Katrak PH, Harris LR, Shiner CT
This study demonstrates that Wii-based Movement Therapy is an effective upper limb rehabilitation poststroke with high patient compliance. It is as effective as modified Constraint-induced Movement Therapy for improving more affected upper limb movement and increased independence in activities of daily living.
Cortical beta oscillations and motor thresholds differ across the spectrum of post-stroke motor impairment, a preliminary MEG and TMS study.
Shiner CT, Tang H, Johnson BW, McNulty PA
Beta ERD/ERS patterns differ across the post-stroke motor impairment spectrum, and are bilaterally similar after stroke. Both the amplitude and duration of beta oscillations relate to post-stroke motor-function.
Cardiovascular fitness is improved post-stroke with upper-limb Wii-based Movement Therapy but not dose-matched constraint therapy.
Trinh T, Scheuer SE, Thompson-Butel AG, Shiner CT, McNulty PA
This is the first study to demonstrate a cardiovascular benefit during specifically targeted upper limb rehabilitation. Thus, WMT not only improves upper limb motor function but also improves cardiovascular fitness.