Learned Nonuse
Learned nonuse: Behavioral learned response to paresis associated with preferential use of less affected limbs can interfere with recovery from neurological insult1.
:::{.callout-note title:“example”} A patient with a stroke who undergoes limited rehabilitation learns to use the less affected extremities to achieve functional goals and fails to use the more affected extremities :::
Prevention
Early exposure to training can prevent learned nonuse and the development of faulty or poor motor patterns1.
Treatment
For later rehabilitation to be successful, these faulty patterns must be unlearned while patterns that incorporate the more involved side are recruited1.
- There is ample evidence that training is also effective for patients with chronic disability1.
References
1.
O’Sullivan SB, Schmitz TJ, eds. Improving Functional Outcomes in Physical Rehabilitation. 2nd ed. F.A. Davis Company; 2016.
Citation
For attribution, please cite this work as:
Yomogida N, Kerstein C. Learned Nonuse. https://yomokerst.com/The
Archive/Motor Control/learned_nonuse.html