Grant: CIHR Fellowship

Approximately half of people with multiple sclerosis (MS) report impairments in hand function. These individuals have difficulty performing everyday tasks, such as using eating utensils, and buttoning clothing. Challenges in activities of daily living can result in reduced community involvement. Inactivity not only leads to a decreased quality of life, but also affects disability development on a neurological level. While natural MS disease progression worsens neurological function, high levels of inactivity and disuse of the hands can advance the formation of lesions and declination of myelin in the brain. Therefore, new therapies that increase hand use are essential to the overall health of people with MS. Our proposed project will involve learning a new motor skill with both hands. Putting a golf ball or shooting a basketball are examples of skills; they involve performing movements to achieve a goal. Acquiring a skill is the key ingredient to our rehabilitation therapy. Learning a skill produces positive changes in brain tissue, such as myelin. To investigate the effects of practicing a skill, individuals will perform an at home-based therapy that requires goal-directed hand use. We believe encouraging individuals to learn motor skills will improve brain and hand function in people with MS.