Implicit development of gaze strategies support motor improvements during action encoding training of prosthesis use.

Background: Action observation training has been suggested to facilitate motor improvements in the lives of persons with neural injury. Previous studies have shown that for persons with upper limb amputation, matched limb training, where prosthesis users emulate each other, has shown promise above mismatched training where a prosthesis user emulates actions of a person with sound limbs (most commonly that of a therapist).

Objective: The mechanism underlying the matched limb training benefit is unclear.

Novel behavioral indicator of explicit awareness reveals temporal course of frontoparietal neural network facilitation during motor learning.

Deficits in sequential motor learning have been observed in many patient populations. Having an understanding of the individual neural progression associated with sequential learning in healthy individuals may provide valuable insights for effective interventions with these patients. Due to individual variability in motor skill acquisition, the temporal course of such learning will be vary, suggesting a need for a more individualized approach.

Influence of Perspective of Action Observation Training on Residual Limb Control in Naïve Prosthesis Usage.

Prior work in amputees and partial limb immobilization have shown improved neural and behavioral outcomes in using their residual limb with prosthesis when undergoing observation-based training with a prosthesis-using actor compared to an intact limb. It was posited that these improvements are due to an alignment of user with the actor. It may be affected by visual angles that allow emphasis of critical joint actions which may promote behavioral changes.