Examining a visuospatial/visuomotor training program as an intervention to induce cognitive improvement during acute post-stroke recovery.

Purpose: A novel visuospatial (VS)/visuomotor (VM) cognitive training program was examined as an intervention tool to improve acute post-stroke recovery. Method: A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 9 experimental participants (age 65 ± 9.31) and 9 controls (age 67 ± 7.81). Intervention training included 1 hour/5-days a week for 4 weeks. Pre-and post-training neuropsychological measures were utilized as determinants of program success. Results: Compared to controls, the intervention group displayed significant gains on all outcome measures including: global (MMSE, p=.002), language (BN, p=.001), VS (Rey-O, p=.011), memory (HVLT, p=.005), executive function (Animal, p=.001), mood (GDS, p=.020) and functional ability (DAD, p=.008). Conclusion: VS/VM cognitive training results in improved cognition, function and mood beyond the outcomes of traditional intervention alone. Thus, this innovative type of intervention shows promise for revolutionizing current stroke rehabilitation.