The effect of visuomotor priming of a manual reaching movement during a perceptual decision task in adults with hemiplegia

Objective: To examine the effect of visuomotor priming of a manual reaching movement during a perceptual decision task after stroke. Method: Forty (n=40) post stroke subjects were recruited and divided into two groups. Following pre test, both the groups trained in reaching proximal and distal object with visuomotor priming (experimental group) or without visuomotor priming (control group).Each participant practiced 24 trials (proximal-12 & distal-12) with affected extremity. Following training, post tests were done on the same day (acquisition phase) and after 24 hours (retention phase).Dependent variables measured include reaction time and number of errors. Results: Significant change in reaction time for experimental group and change in error for both the group. There is statistically significant difference between control and experimental group in performance error during acquisition and retention phase. Conclusion: Visuomotor priming is effective in training hand functions following stroke.