Action Observation Therapy Before Sleep Hours: An EEG Study

Abstract

Action Observation Therapy (AOT) is a rehabilitation method which aims at stimulating motor memory by means of the repetitive observation of motor tasks presented through video-clips. Since sleep seems to have a positive effect on learning processes, it is reasonable to hypothesize that the delivery of AOT immediately before sleep hours could enhance the effects of motor training. The objective of the present work was to test the effect of AOT delivered before the sleep hours in terms of improvements in manual dexterity and changes in cortical activity through Electroencephalography (EEG) on healthy subjects. Specifically, EEG traces acquired on a treatment and on a control group before and after three weeks of training during the execution of a Nine Hole Peg Test were analyzed. The spectral analysis of brain signals showed an increased activation of the motor cortex on a subgroup of the treatment subjects. Moreover, a significantly higher involvement of frontal areas was observed in the treatment group.