Can listening to sound sequences facilitate movement? The potential for motor rehabilitation

Rebeka Bodak, Lauren Stewart, Marianne Stephan, Maria Witek, Virginia Penhune, Peter Vuust

Research output: Contribution to conferenceConference abstract for conferenceResearchpeer-review

Abstract

One of the obstacles preventing patients from effective motor recovery following stroke is low frequency of sessions. What if listening to sounds between physical rehabilitation sessions could yield motor improvement? Our study provides a stepping stone to answering that question, by first examining the impact of auditory exposure on the formation of new motor memories in healthy nonmusicians.

Following an audiomotor mapping session, participants will be asked to listen to and memorise sequence A or sequence B in a sound-only task. Employing a congruent/incongruent crossover design, participants’ motor performance will be tested using visuospatial stimuli to cue key presses, either to the congruent sequence they heard, or to the incongruent unfamiliar sequence. It is predicted that the congruent group will perform faster than the incongruent group.

The findings of this study have the potential to be useful in motor rehabilitation settings where the coupling of sound and movement patterns might help patients relearn motor tasks relevant to activities of daily living, particularly when regular physical practice is not possible.
Original languageEnglish
Publication date12 Jun 2015
Publication statusPublished - 12 Jun 2015
EventMusic Therapy Advances in Neuro-disability II : Dialogues in Neuroscience, Research and Clinical Practice - Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability, London, United Kingdom
Duration: 12 Jun 201513 Jun 2015

Conference

ConferenceMusic Therapy Advances in Neuro-disability II
LocationRoyal Hospital for Neuro-disability
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
City London
Period12/06/201513/06/2015

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