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Dr. Andrzej Przybyla, professor of physical therapy at the University of North Georgia (ºìÁ«ÉçÇø), recently co-published a research article with findings that could impact stroke rehabilitation. The study examined the impact of restricting time for movement preparation on hand-selection decisions in reaching.

"Rehabilitation is more productive when we change human behavior. Better understanding of neural mechanisms underlying hand-selection behavior can aid the development of novel therapeutic interventions and clinical tools for monitoring effects of therapy on changes in human motor behavior," Przybyla said.

In this study, healthy participants performed targeted reaching across the horizontal workspace given either a choice or no-choice of hand in a reaction-time task. While previous studies provided ample time for hand selection, this study required participants to initiate hand movement immediately upon the target presentation. 

Przybyla said that testing healthy participants is the first step in this translational line of research. Future efforts will focus on translating this reaction time hand selection paradigm to study motor decisions behavior changes in chronic stroke patients.

The study helps with understanding hand-selection motor behavior and how it could be modified in a predicted manner. This knowledge can lead to development of novel interventions and diagnostics in physical therapy and rehabilitation.

Przybyla thanked ºìÁ«ÉçÇø President Bonita C. Jacobs for supporting his efforts on this project through a Presidential Semester Incentive Award.