Validity of an Open-access Handedness Recognition Task in Stroke Patients

March 24, 2026 updated by: Alfredo Lerín Calvo
This study aims to assess the validity of a hand laterality discrimination task in patients who have suffered a stroke. The protocol involves two assessment sessions consisting of a Single Reaction Time (SRT) task and a Hand Laterality Judgement Task (HLJT). In the HLJT, participants are presented with images of right or left hands at various degrees of rotation and must determine the laterality of each hand. Primary outcomes include reaction time for the SRT, and both accuracy (percentage of correct responses) and decision-making time for the HLJT. Additionally, motor and kinesthetic imagery scales, as well as demographic and cognitive variables, are recorded.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Detailed Description

The primary objective of this research is to evaluate the psychometric properties and validity of a hand laterality discrimination task in a post-stroke population. The study design includes two identical measurement points to assess the reliability and accuracy of motor processing.

The experimental protocol is divided into two main components:

Single Reaction Time (SRT) Task: This task is used to establish a motor processing baseline by measuring the simple reaction time to a stimulus.

Hand Laterality Judgement Task (HLJT): A mental rotation task where patients are shown photographs of right and left hands at different angles of rotation. Participants must decide whether the hand shown is a right or a left hand. The variables analyzed are the accuracy rate (percentage of correct responses) and the decision-making time (latency).

Upon completion of the HLJT, a structured interview is conducted to identify the mental strategies used during the task. This allows researchers to determine whether patients relied on motor imagery (e.g., mentally moving their own hand) or external visual strategies to achieve the results.

To complement these data, the study incorporates validated motor and kinesthetic imagery scales to assess the subjective quality of movement representation. Furthermore, demographic data (such as age and time since stroke) and cognitive variables are collected to control for potential confounding factors that may influence performance on the laterality tasks.

To evaluate the changes and the validity of the measurements, an Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) will be performed. In this model, the baseline measurement (Session 1) will be included as a covariate to control for initial individual differences in reaction time and accuracy. This approach allows for a more precise estimation of the task's stability and the effect of the variables studied by reducing the error variance associated with the participants' starting scores.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

30

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

  • Name: Alfredo Lerín Calvo, Physical Therapist
  • Phone Number: +34 620187457
  • Email: alerin@neuronrehab.es

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

The study population consists of adult stroke survivors who have experienced a cerebrovascular accident. To ensure participants can understand the task instructions and provide reliable data, a cognitive screening is performed. Only individuals with a Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score of greater than 21 ($MoCA > 21$) are included, thereby excluding patients with severe cognitive impairment that could interfere with the mental rotation and imagery tasks

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults (>18 years old) with Stroke
  • MoCA score > 21 points

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Other neurological conditions
  • Severe cognitive impairment

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Stroke group
This is a single-group study involving a cohort of stroke patients. All participants will undergo the same assessment protocol, including the Single Reaction Time (SRT) task, the Hand Laterality Judgement Task (HLJT) with post-task strategy interviews, and the administration of motor imagery, demographic, and cognitive scales.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Hand Laterality Judgement
Time Frame: At baseline + a follow-up 1 week later
Ability to disclosure right/left hand laterality
At baseline + a follow-up 1 week later
Single Reaction Time Task
Time Frame: At baseline + a follow-up 1 week later
At baseline + a follow-up 1 week later

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Alfredo Lerín Calvo

Collaborators

KU Leuven

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

October 7, 2025

Primary Completion (Estimated)

November 1, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 17, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 24, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 27, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 27, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 24, 2026

Last Verified

March 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • NeuronClinic

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

YES

IPD Plan Description

All used databases (anonymized data) will be uploaded to zenodo

IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type

  • STUDY_PROTOCOL
  • ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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