Affiliations: [a] Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Germany | [b] Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL, USA
Correspondence:
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Address for correspondence: Marcus Meinzer, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Zentrum für Psychiatrie, Room 34-35, 78479 Reichenau-Lindenbuehl, Germany. Tel.: +49 7531 884626; Fax: +49 7531 884601; E-mail: marcus.meinzer@uni-konstanz.de
Abstract: Constraint-Induced Movement Therapy (CIMT) is a powerful and well evaluated therapeutic tool for the treatment of post-stroke paresis. CIMT is based on an intensive training (massed practice) principle and a gradual rebuilding of movement functions (shaping principle). In this article we will review how CIMT principles can be adapted to treat post-stroke aphasia, thereby establishing a Constraint-Induced Aphasia Therapy (CIAT). First results of this new approach suggest success and feasibility for the treatment of chronic aphasia. The observation of reorganizational changes in brain activity following intensive language training add to previous evidence that CIMT-based therapy may lead to macroscopic remodelling of cortical network architecture.
