Interlimb interactions during bilateral voluntary elbow flexion tasks in chronic hemiparetic stroke

The purpose was to systematically investigate interlimb interactions in chronic hemiparetic stroke. Fourteen poststroke hemiparetic subjects (>1 year) performed maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) elbow flexion tasks without visual feedback with one (unilateral) and two limbs simultaneously (bilateral). At submaximal levels, subjects produced force to a visual target reflecting 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% of corresponding MVC in unilateral tasks, and of summated unilateral MVCs in bilateral tasks. Elbow flexion force and biceps surface electromyogram (EMG) were measured bilaterally. Proportionally increased EMG activity on the contralateral limb (motor overflow) was observed during unilateral tasks of the nonimpaired limb but not of the impaired limb. During bilateral tasks at submaximal levels, the impaired limb produced less force (i.e., force deficit [FD]) as compared to expected forces based upon its unilateral MVC. Force deficit on the impaired limb was compensated by greater force production on the nonimpaired limb such that the visual target was reached. However, force contribution to the total force progressively decreased from the nonimpaired side, when the level of submaximal contractions increased. During bilateral MVC tasks, there was no FD on the impaired limb, but FD was observed on the nonimpaired limb. A net result of a small bilateral deficit in force with parallel changes in EMG was observed. These novel findings of activation level–dependent interactions and asymmetrical contralateral motor overflow provide new insights that, among other compensatory mechanisms, ipsilateral corticospinal projections from the nonlesioned hemisphere play an important role in interlimb interactions in chronic stroke, in addition to unbalanced interhemispheric inhibition.