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New Perspectives in the Rehabilitation of Children With Motor Disorders : the Role of the Mirror Neuron System

NCT01016496 · Status: COMPLETED · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 20

Last updated 2014-06-24

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Evidence exists that the activation of actions activates the same cortical motor areas that are involved in the performance of the observed actions. The neural substrate for this phenomena is the mirror neuron system. It is generally assumed that mirror neurons have a basic role in understanding the intentions of others and in imitation learning. There is evidence that action observation has a positive effect on rehabilitation of motor disorders after stroke. The aim of this study is to demonstrate that action observation followed by the repetition of the actions previously observed has a positive impact on rehabilitation of the upper limb in children affected by hemiplegia as a consequence of Cerebral Palsy. In particular, the purpose is to assess if mirror neurons could improve the amount, the quality and the velocity of movements and the cooperation between the two upper extremities.

Conditions

  • Hemiplegia
  • Cerebral Palsy

Interventions

OTHER

action observation therapy

15 consecutive sessions of 18 minutes, plus repetition

OTHER

repetition of gestures

15 consecutive session of visual games, plus repetition of gestures

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Parma

    collaborator OTHER

  • IRCCS Fondazione Stella Maris

    collaborator OTHER

  • Stefania Costi

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Rizzolatti Giacomo, Professor · University of Parma

  • Ferrari Adriano, Professor · University of Modena and Reggio Emilia

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
DOUBLE
Model
PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age
6 Years
Max Age
12 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2009-09-30
Primary Completion
2010-05-31
Completion
2010-11-30

Countries

  • Italy

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT01016496 on ClinicalTrials.gov