• Alessio Faralli, Matteo Bigoni, Alessandro Mauro, Ferdinando Rossi, and Daniela Carulli.
• Department of Neuroscience, Neuroscience Institute of Turin, University of Turin, Regione Gonzole 10, 10043 Orbassano, Turin, Italy.
• Neural Plast. 2013 Jan 1;2013:854597.

AbstractStroke is a common and disabling global health-care problem, which is the third most common cause of death and one of the main causes of acquired adult disability in many countries. Rehabilitation interventions are a major component of patient care. In the last few years, brain stimulation, mirror therapy, action observation, or mental practice with motor imagery has emerged as interesting options as add-on interventions to standard physical therapies. The neural bases for poststroke recovery rely on the concept of plasticity, namely, the ability of central nervous system cells to modify their structure and function in response to external stimuli. In this review, we will discuss recent noninvasive strategies employed to enhance functional recovery in stroke patients and we will provide an overview of neural plastic events associated with rehabilitation in preclinical models of stroke.

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