Motor Imagery of the Unaffected Hand in Children With Spastic Hemiplegia

This study examined the ability of children with hemiplegia to perform motor imagery of their unaffected hand. Children (8–12 years) formed three groups—R-HEMI: right-sided hemiplegia, n?=?21; L-HEMI: left-sided hemiplegia, n?=?19; and Comparisons, n?=?21. We expected no group differences on a simple imagined grasping task, but the hemiplegia groups to perform atypically on an imagined pointing task. Results showed no group differences on the grasping task, while only the L-HEMI group performed atypically on the pointing task— the functional level of the children played a likely role in this finding. Children with hemiplegia can engage in motor imagery, although task complexity and functional level may have an impact.