A New Neurorehabilitative Postsurgery Intervention for Facial Palsy Based on Smile Observation and Hand-Mouth Motor Synergies

Discussion. Results support FIT-SAT as a viable alternative for smile rehabilitation after free muscle transfer. We propose that the treatment potentiates the effect of smile observation by activating the same neural structures responsible for the execution of the smile and therefore by facilitating its production. Closing of the hand induces cortical recruitment of hand motor neurons, recruiting the transplanted muscles, and reducing the risk of associating other unwanted movements such as teeth clenching to the smile movements.PMID:33833792 | PMC:PMC8016575 | DOI:10.1155/2021/8890541

Source: Neural Plasticity - April 9, 2021 Category: Neurology Authors: Elisa De Stefani Anna Barbot Chiara Bertolini Mauro Belluardo Gioacchino Garofalo Nicola Bruno Bernardo Bianchi Andrea Ferri Pier Francesco Ferrari Source Type: research