A New Rehabilitation Treatment following Stroke
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A randomised controlled study of early vs. late, and unisensory vs. multisensory rehabilitation for stroke patients with perceptual and cognitive impairments.
IRAS ID
160140
Contact name
Masud Husain
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Oxford University Hospitals
Duration of Study in the UK
4 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Stroke is the number one cause of disability in the United Nations with about 1 million new cases each year. Following stroke, patients with perceptual and cognitive impairments have the worst prognostic outcomes. There is evidence to suggest that perceptual and cognitive symptoms can be alleviated by multisensory integration, which has the effect of enhancing motor, perceptual and cognitive processes. This research project will investigate for the first time the functional benefits that stem from multisensory stimulation of attention in stroke patients with perceptual and cognitive impairments. The research project will involve multisensory learning paradigms with stimulus and environmental parameters that optimally enhance perceptual learning and cognitive function in healthy adults. Multisensory learning paradigms will be tailored for patients with stroke to determine the perceptual and cognitive symptoms that can be alleviated, and fMRI will be used to evaluate the underlying neural substrates of the effects. The project will show whether multisensoty stimulation provides an effective means of attentional rehabilitation after stroke and whether the effects generalize to everyday life, with long-term outcomes that improve functional independence in patients with stroke.
REC name
South Central - Oxford C Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/SC/1339
Date of REC Opinion
19 Nov 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion