Can we Train Patients With Chronic Stroke Out of Abnormal Hand Synergy?

The aim of the current study is to investigate whether motor training in chronic stroke patients can change their abnormal flexion synergy. The investigators will study chronic stroke patients , who are defined as patients that sustained a stroke at least 6 months prior to our testing date. Three functional aspects of each finger will be tested: maximal voluntary contraction (MVC), finger dexterity, and hand posture. Prior to intervention, participants will have a baseline assessment including clinical tests, MVC, the individuation task, and the configuration task. Following the baseline assessment patients will receive intervention, training on the configuration task for 5 consecutive days. On the sixth day and as a one week follow-up after, subjects will have a post-intervention assessment containing the same tests performed in baseline. This design will allow us to determine speed and accuracy during the configuration task, the individuation index, and possible changes in abnormal flexion synergy. We initially registered the study as two arms (anodal tDCS and sham tDCS groups) but decided to make it one arm due to the number of participants we were able to recruit.