大象传媒

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A research group from 大象传媒 discovered that meta-learning ability enhances motor skill recovery in stroke patients. The variability in recovery performance among individuals has puzzled clinicians. The researchers evaluated the meta-learning ability of individuals with hemiplegic stroke in the rehabilitation ward of Fujita Health University Hospital using a novel meta-learning experiment for motor adaptation. They found that variabilities in the patients' improvements in daily living activity measures were explained by the measured meta-learning ability.

Tsukuba, Japan—Meta-learning, categorized as metacognitive ability, is a crucial skill for recognizing one's own learning abilities and planning practice. It has been a central issue in educational psychology regarding improving the classroom performance of younger people in subjects such as calculus or language. The researchers found that such meta-learning ability is also important for adolescents, especially for the recovery of motor skill performance after stroke. They developed a simple motor meta-learning task using a robotic device, which could be completed in half an hour. The stroke patients in the rehabilitation ward of Fujita Health University Hospital participated in this study, and their motor meta-learning ability was assessed. This information was analyzed alongside Functional Independence Measure scores taken during hospitalization. Statistical analysis revealed a significant correlation between meta-learning ability and improvement index. Thus, meta-learning ability was identified as a predictor of the effect of rehabilitation training.

This discovery suggests that enhancement of individual meta-learning ability might improve rehabilitation efficacy. This could be a crucial factor in developing customized rehabilitation programs focused on improving an individual's learning ability as a basis for motor recovery through rehabilitation training.

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This work was supported by grants from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science KAKENHI (Grant Numbers: 18H03135, 19H04977, 19H05729, 22H00498). TS was supported by a JSPS Research Fellowship for Young Scientists (JSPS KAKENHI: 19J20366).

Original Paper

Title of original paper:

Learning-to-learn as a metacognitive correlate of functional outcomes after stroke: a cohort study

Journal:

European journal of physical and rehabilitation medicine

DOI:

Correspondence

Institute of Systems and Information Engineering, 大象传媒

Professor OTAKA Yohei
Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Fujita Health University School of Medicine

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