The efficacy of Neuro-Cognitive Therapeutic Interventions for improving upper extremity functions in patients with Acquired Brain Injury – A double-blinded, parallel-arm, Randomized Controlled Trial.

Motor and sensory impairments, particularly in upper limb function, are prevalent following Acquired Brain Injury (ABI) and often a primary focus of rehabilitation goals. Rehabilitation aims to promote motor recovery through various intervention techniques. A variety of techniques is used to address upper limb impairments post-ABI. Task-oriented training improves functional use of the affected limb, while splinting and casting support positioning, prevent contractures, and facilitate functional use. Constraint- induced movement therapy and mirror therapy leverage neuroplasticity principles to overcome learned non-use and promote cortical reorganization. Virtual reality provides engaging environments for practicing upper limb movements. Compensatory strategies and use of adaptive equipment are taught when functional recovery is limited. All of these methods have their own merits and demerits. One of the emerging interventions in the Upper limb Rehabilitation is Cognitive Exercise therapy (CET).

CET focuses on retraining the perceptual and cognitive processes to facilitate upper extremity sensori-motor functions. It is based on the assumption that by training cognitive processes involved in perception, attention, memory, and learning, this will in turn support neuroplasticity changes and the recovery of upper extremity functions. However, research on finding the efficacy of CET on ABI patients is limited. This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of NCTI along with usual occupational therapy to improve upper extremity functions. The patients with ABI who are getting admitted in A2, Q3 wards and rehabilitation center, and who fulfill the inclusion criteria will be randomly divided into two groups as experimental group and control group. The patients in the control group will receive usual occupational therapy intervention for 2 hours per day. The patients in the experimental group will receive usual occupational therapy intervention for 1 hour and Neuro-Cognitive Therapeutic Interventions for 1 hour per day. Hence both groups will receive 2 hours of therapy per day, 5 days a week for 4 weeks. Both the groups will receive medical and other therapeutic interventions such as Physiotherapy, speech therapy etc as their regular interventions.