A 3-minute recumbent stepper test in chronic stroke.

Background: Persons with stroke often have difficulty achieving target heart rate (HR) during graded exercise testing (GXT), which is known to limit test sensitivity for detecting clinically relevant cardiac conditions. A novel Recumbent Stepper 3-minute (RS 3Min) "all out" test may increase sensitivity of stress testing after stroke.

Objective: To determine the feasibility of adding the RS 3Min test after GXT among persons after stroke.

Preliminary Outcomes of Combined Treadmill and Overground High-Intensity Interval Training in Ambulatory Chronic Stroke.

Purpose: Locomotor high-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a promising intervention for stroke rehabilitation. However, overground translation of treadmill speed gains has been somewhat limited, some important outcomes have not been tested and baseline response predictors are poorly understood. This pilot study aimed to guide future research by assessing preliminary outcomes of combined overground and treadmill HIIT.

Functional magnetic resonance brain imaging of imagined walking to study locomotor function after stroke.

Objective: Imagined walking has yielded insights into normal locomotor control and could improve understanding of neurologic gait dysfunction. This study evaluated brain activation during imagined walking in chronic stroke.

Methods: Ten persons with stroke and 10 matched controls completed a walking test battery and a magnetic resonance imaging session including imagined walking and knee extension tasks.

Effects of Exercise Intensity on Acute Circulating Molecular Responses Poststroke.

. Exercise intensity can influence functional recovery after stroke, but the mechanisms remain poorly understood. .

Exercise intensity affects acute neurotrophic and neurophysiological responses poststroke.

Aerobic exercise may acutely prime the brain to be more responsive to rehabilitation, thus facilitating neurologic recovery from conditions like stroke. This aerobic priming effect could occur through multiple mechanisms, including upregulation of circulating brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), increased corticospinal excitability, and decreased intracortical inhibition. However, optimal exercise parameters for targeting these mechanisms are poorly understood.