Title:
Utilization of auditory cues to enhance therapy for children with cerebral palsy
Utilization of auditory cues to enhance therapy for children with cerebral palsy
Author(s)
Nixon, Mason Earl
Advisor(s)
Howard, Ayanna M.
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Abstract
The objective of the research is to examine the impact of auditory stimulus on improving reaching performance in children with cerebral palsy. A form of auditory stimulus, called rhythmic auditory stimulation (RAS), is well-established in neurological fields as well as in music-based rehabilitation and therapy. RAS is a method in which the rhythm functions as a sensory cue to induce temporal stability and enhancement of movement patterns by what is believed to be a temporal constraint of the patient’s internal optimized path of motion. In current neurological studies, it is suggested that activity in the premotor cortex may represent the integration of auditory information with temporally organized motor action during rhythmic cuing. Based on this theory, researchers have shown that rhythmic auditory stimulation can produce significant improvement in mean gait velocity, cadence, and stride length in patients with Parkinson’s disease. Evidence validating this observation was also seen in a study on hemiparetic stroke wherein patients displayed improvements in spatio-temporal arm control, reduction in variability of timing and reaching trajectories, and kinematic smoothing of the wrist joint during rhythmic entrainment. Lastly, studies have suggested an accompaniment of sound feedback in addition to visual feedback can result in a positive influence and higher confidence in patients who have had a stroke or spinal cord injury. Although an effect of rhythmic cuing on upper extremity therapy has been explored in areas where brain injury has occurred (such as patients who have incurred stroke, spinal injury, traumatic brain injury, etc.), what has not been explored is the effect of rhythmic cuing on upper extremity therapy for individuals with neurological movement disorders, such as cerebral palsy. Thus, in this research, we set out to explore the effect of RAS in therapeutic interventions for children with cerebral palsy. Through this investigation, we examine its effect on reaching performance as measured through range of motion, peak angular velocity, movement time, path length, spatio-temporal variability, and movement units. For this assessment, we created a virtual system to test the aforementioned principles. We established clinically based angular measurements that include elbow flexion, shoulder flexion, and shoulder abduction using a 3D depth sensor to evaluate relevant metrics in upper extremity rehabilitation. We validated the output of our measurements through a comparison with a Vicon Motion Capture System. We then confirmed the trends of the metrics between groups of adults, children, and children with cerebral palsy. Through testing our system with adults, children, and children with cerebral palsy, we believe we have constructed a system that may induce engagement, which is critical to physical therapy, and may also have a positive impact on the metrics. Although we see trends indicative of an effect through use of the system on children with cerebral palsy, we believe further testing is needed in order to establish or refute the effect and also to definitively establish or refute the effect of rhythmic auditory stimulation. The system, the angular measurements, and the metrics we employ could provide an excellent foundation for future research in this space.
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Date Issued
2013-04-10
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