The Use of Extrinsic Performance Feedback and Reward to Enhance Upper Limb Motor Behavior and Recovery Post-Stroke: A Scoping Review.

Background: During post-stroke motor rehabilitation, patients often receive feedback from therapists or via rehabilitation technologies. Research suggests that feedback may benefit motor performance, skill acquisition, and action selection. However, there is no consensus on how extrinsic feedback should be implemented during stroke rehabilitation to best leverage specific neurobehavioral mechanisms to optimize recovery.

Objective: To identify the existing evidence and research gaps regarding the effects of extrinsic feedback on upper extremity motor function in stroke survivors, and to map the evidence onto neurobehavioral concepts of motor performance, motor learning, and action selection.

Methods: The MEDLINE, PsychInfo, EMBASE, and CINHAL databases were searched for relevant articles. A sequential screening process and data extraction were performed by 2 independent reviewers, and the results were reported according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for Scoping Reviews guidelines.

Results: A total of 29 studies were identified that met the criteria for inclusion. Beneficial effects of feedback were reported for clinical outcomes of rehabilitation interventions as well as motor performance, motor learning, and action selection post-stroke. Three studies showed that the addition of rewarding elements to positive performance feedback benefited learning or recovery.

Conclusions: Extrinsic feedback has the potential to improve outcomes of stroke rehabilitation through effects on motor performance, motor learning, or action selection. To understand how these specific neurobehavioral processes contribute to recovery, clinical trials should include more granular behavioral measures. Rewarding feedback may be particularly beneficial, but more research is needed regarding the specific implementation of feedback.