Objective: To evaluate the effect of mental practice on motor imagery ability and assess the influence of motor imagery on gait rehabilitation in sub-acute stroke. Design: Randomized controlled trial. Subjects: A total of 44 patients with gait dysfunction after first-ever stroke were randomly allocated to a motor imagery training group and a muscle relaxation group. Methods: The motor imagery group received 6 weeks of daily mental practice. The relaxation group received a muscle relaxation programme of equal duration. Motor imagery ability and lower limb function were assessed at baseline and after 6 weeks of treatment. Motor imagery ability was tested using a questionnaire and mental chronometry test. Gait outcome was evaluated using a 10-m walk test (near transfer) and the Fugl-Meyer assessment (far transfer). Results: Significant between-group differences were found, with the vividness of kinesthetic imagery and the walking test results improving more in the motor imagery group than in the muscle relaxation group. There was no group interaction effect for the far transfer outcome score. Conclusion: Motor imagery training may have a beneficial task-specific effect on gait function in sub-acute stroke; however, longer term confirmation is required.

Somatosensory impairments are common in subacute patients poststroke and are related to motor outcome. Visuospatial neglect was associated with more severe upper-limb somatosensory impairments.

Background The spread of COVID-19 has affected people’s daily lives, and the lockdown may have led to a disruption of daily activities and a decrease of people’s mental health. Aim To identify correlates of adults’ mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium and to assess the role of meaningful activities in particular. Methods A cross-sectional web survey for assessing mental health (General Health Questionnaire), resilience (Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale), meaning in activities (Engagement in Meaningful Activities Survey), and demographics was conducted during the first Belgian lockdown between April 24 and May 4, 2020. The lockdown consisted of closing schools, non-essential shops, and recreational settings, employees worked from home or were technically unemployed, and it was forbidden to undertake social activities. Every adult who had access to the internet and lived in Belgium could participate in the survey; respondents were recruited online through social media and e-mails. Hierarchical linear regression was used to identify key correlates. Results Participants (N = 1781) reported low mental health (M = 14.85/36). In total, 42.4% of the variance in mental health could be explained by variables such as gender, having children, living space, marital status, health condition, and resilience (β = −.33). Loss of meaningful activities was strongly related to mental health (β = −.36) and explained 9% incremental variance (R2 change = .092, p < .001) above control variables. Conclusions The extent of performing meaningful activities during the COVID-19 lockdown in Belgium was positively related to adults’ mental health. Insights from this study can be taken into account during future lockdown measures in case of pandemics.

This article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues.Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. Abstract Objectives: To evaluate fall risk in stroke patients based on single-and dual-task gait analyses, and to investigate the difference between 2 cognitive tasks in the dual-task paradigm. Design: Prospective cohort study. Setting: Rehabilitation hospitals. Participants: Subacute stroke patients (NZ32), able to walk without physical/manual help with or without walking aids, while performing a verbal task. Interventions: Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures: Functional gait measures were Functional Ambulation Categories (FAC) and use of a walking aid. Gait measures were evaluated by an electronic walkway system under single-and dual-task (DT) conditions. For the single-task, subjects were instructed to walk at their usual speed. One of the DTs was a verbal fluency dual task, whereby subjects had to walk while simultaneously enumerating as many different animals as possible. For the other DT (counting dual task), participants had to walk while performing serial subtractions. After inclusion, participants kept a 6-month falls diary. Results: Eighteen (56.3%) of the 32 included patients fell. Ten (31.3%) were single fallers (SFs), and 8 (25%) were multiple fallers (MFs). Fallers (Fs) more frequently used a walking aid and more frequently needed an observatory person for walking safely (FAC score of 3) than nonfallers (NFs). Two gait decrement parameters in counting dual task could distinguish potential Fs from NFs: decrement in stride length percentage (PZ.043) and nonparetic step length percentage (PZ.047). Regarding the division in 3 groups (NFs, SFs, and MFs), only MFs had a significantly higher percentage of decrement for paretic step length (PZ.023) than SFs. Conclusions: Examining the decrement of spatial gait characteristics (stride length and paretic and nonparetic step length) during a DT addressing working memory can identify fall-prone subacute stroke patients.

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