NCT02584491

Brain Change After Fun, Athletic, Sports-skill Training (BeFAST)

Linking Neuroplasticity With the Outcomes of Motor Learning Based Interventions: Multi-modal Evaluation of Walking-based Training in Children and Youth With Cerebral Palsy

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 9 (actual)
• Sponsor: Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 7 Years – 17 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

The purpose of this study is to determine the associations between changes in neural activity and structure, advanced gross motor skills, gait characteristics, and physical activity participation following a gait-related intervention that is based on motor learning principles for ambulatory children and youth with hemiplegic and diplegic cerebral palsy. The investigators' hypothesis is that in conjunction with a program of motor learning based training, functional neuroplastic changes in the involved motor areas will be strongly associated with changes in gait and advanced gross motor skills, moderately associated with physical activity based participation changes, and will have a fair association with structural neuroplastic change.

Conditions

• Cerebral Palsy

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Functional gait-related training	The motor learning (ML)-based functional gait-related training program is designed to improve advanced gross motor skills and athleticism. It will involve 45-min sessions twice to three times weekly over 6 weeks for a total of 16 active sessions. A maximum of 7 weeks will be permitted. Each session will consist of 35-min of active training along with a 10-min active warm-up/cool-down that incorporates ML. Scheduling flexibility will promote adherence, with a minimum one day between sessions to provide opportunity for rest. Children will be given a 3- to 5-min mental motor imagery script to practice on days when they do not have active training sessions. The total number of sessions (combined active/imagery) will be five per week.

Timeline

• Start date: 2015-07-01
• Primary completion: 2016-12-01
• Completion: 2016-12-01
• First posted: 2015-10-22
• Last updated: 2019-01-17

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Canada