ABSTRACT
Cerebrovascular disease (i.e., stroke), represents the –rst cause of acquired permanent disability in adults and the third leading cause of death in industrialized countries. Even after rehabilitation, about 80% of post-stroke patients still suffer upper limb disability, which impairs their daily living activities and often leads to major incapacities (Kwakkel et al., 2006). The mechanisms of functional recovery after stroke remain largely unknown, but animal models and correlated human studies demonstrate that functional recovery after stroke is obtained through the use-dependent reorganization of neural mechanisms, exploiting basic properties of neural plasticity (Hallett, 2001).
