A Single Bout of High-Intensity Interval Training Improves Motor Skill Retention in Individuals With Stroke

Well fuck, then write this up into a stroke protocol, if you don't you are part of the problem and should remove yourself from this area.  This research seems to be useless since the background doesn't match what the objective and method says.  Would this be better if done in acute stroke rather than chronic? We'll never know.
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1545968317718269

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Jean-Francois Nepveu, MSc, Alexander Thiel, MD, PhD, Ada Tang, PhD, ...

First Published July 8, 2017 Research Article

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Abstract

Background. One bout of high-intensity cardiovascular exercise performed immediately after practicing a motor skill promotes changes in the neuroplasticity of the motor cortex and facilitates motor learning in nondisabled individuals.
Objective. To determine if a bout of exercise performed at high intensity is sufficient to induce neuroplastic changes and improve motor skill retention in patients with chronic stroke.  
Methods. Twenty-two patients with different levels of motor impairment were recruited. On the first session, the effects of a maximal graded exercise test on corticospinal and intracortical excitability were assessed from the affected and unaffected primary motor cortex representational area of a hand muscle with transcranial magnetic stimulation. On the second session, participants were randomly assigned to an exercise or a nonexercise control group. Immediately after practicing a motor task, the exercise group performed 15 minutes of high-intensity interval training while the control group rested. Twenty-four hours after motor practice all participants completed a test of the motor task to assess skill retention.  
Results. The graded exercise test reduced interhemispheric imbalances in GABA_A-mediated short-interval intracortical inhibition but changes in other markers of excitability were not statistically significant. The group that performed high-intensity interval training showed a better retention of the motor skill.  
Conclusions. The performance of a maximal graded exercise test triggers only modest neuroplastic changes in patients with chronic stroke. However, a single bout of high-intensity interval training performed immediately after motor practice improves skill retention, which could potentially accelerate motor recovery in these individuals.

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