• Jong-Bae Choi and Kyung-In Cho.
• Department of Occupational Therapy, Chosun University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea.
• Medicine (Baltimore). 2024 Jul 5; 103 (27): e38723e38723.

BackgroundThis study aimed to investigate the effects of virtual reality (VR)-based robot therapy combined with task-oriented therapy on cerebral cortex activation and upper limb function in patients with stroke.MethodsThis study included 46 patients with hemiplegia within 1 year of stroke onset. Patients were divided into an experimental group (n = 23) and a control group (n = 23) using a computer randomization program. The experimental group received VR-based robot and task-oriented therapies, whereas the control group received only task-oriented therapy. All participants received interventions for 40 minutes per session, 5 times a week, for 8 weeks. For the pre- and post-evaluation of all participants, the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for the upper extremity, manual function test, motor activity log, and Jebsen-Taylor Hand Function Test were used to evaluate changes in upper limb function and motor-evoked potential amplitudes were measured to compare cerebral cortex activation.ResultsIn comparison to the control group, experimental group demonstrated an improvement in the function of the upper limb (P < .01) and activation of the cerebral cortex (P < .01).ConclusionThe combined intervention of VR-based robot and task-oriented therapies is valuable for improving upper limb function and cerebral cortex activation in patients with stroke.Copyright © 2024 the Author(s). Published by Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc.

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