BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurorehabilitation
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1601454
Twenty minutes of Corsi Block Tapping Task training does not improve mental rotation in adults with stroke
Provisionally accepted
Sarah A Kettlety1
Giuliet Kibler1
Andrew Hooyman2
Christina K Holl1
Sydney Y Schaefer3
Kristan Anne Leech1*- 1University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States
- 2Chapman University, Orange, California, United States
- 3Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona, United States
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Background: Visuospatial function is commonly impaired post-stroke and is associated with motor learning and recovery. A single, twenty-minute Corsi Block Tapping Task (CBTT) training session improved visuospatial function in young neurotypical adults; however, it is unclear whether this training would improve visuospatial function in adults with stroke. Objective: To understand if a single, twenty-minute CBTT training session improved visuospatial function in adults with stroke compared to a no-training control group of adults with stroke. Methods: Participants post-stroke were assigned to one of two groups. The training group completed twenty minutes of computerized CBTT training. The control group completed a survey and watched a video for twenty minutes. Both groups completed a mental rotation task to assess visuospatial function pre-and post-training. To understand if training impacted mental rotation reaction time, we fit a robust mixed effects model with fixed effects for time, group, and time by group interaction. We also investigated whether lesion side impacted CBTT performance using a robust mixed effects model with fixed effects for log(time), lesion side, and log(time) by lesion side interaction. Results: Nineteen participants post-stroke were included. Neither the control nor training group improved mental rotation reaction time (time p=0.61, group p=0.65; interaction p=0.52). We also found no effect of lesion side on CBTT performance (log(time) p=0.001, lesion side p=0.49, interaction p=0.89). Discussion: Twenty minutes of CBTT training did not improve post-stroke mental rotation. Longer training bouts or a different type of visuospatial training may be necessary to improve visuospatial function in adults with stroke.
Keywords: Stroke, Cognition, Visuospatial Function, cognitive training, mental rotation
Received: 27 Mar 2025; Accepted: 26 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Kettlety, Kibler, Hooyman, Holl, Schaefer and Leech. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Kristan Anne Leech, kleech@pt.usc.edu
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