REVIEW article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neurorehabilitation
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1670420
This article is part of the Research TopicNew approaches for central nervous system rehabilitation - Volume IIView all 10 articles
Breaking the Learned Helplessness Paradigm in Chronic Stroke: An Intensive Neuroplasticity Framework Bridging European Technology and African Innovation
Provisionally accepted
- University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon
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Introduction: Most chronic stroke survivors develop learned helplessness regarding motor recovery prospects, accepting permanent disability despite evidence that neuroplasticity windows remain accessible years post-stroke. This review examines how intensive protocols targeting learned helplessness can achieve meaningful recovery across diverse healthcare settings.Methods: Comprehensive literature review using PubMed, Scopus, and specialized databases . Analysis included constraint-induced movement therapy protocols, progressive muscle lengthening techniques, and neuroplasticity principles across European hightechnology centers and African human-intensive programs. Search incorporated systematic analysis of therapeutic intensity parameters, cultural adaptation protocols, and crosscontinental implementation strategies.Results: Literature synthesis reveals meaningful functional recovery 2-5 years post-stroke when intensive protocols directly challenge learned helplessness through forced-use approaches, training intensities exceeding traditional therapy doses (3-6 hours daily versus 30-45 minutes), and systematic addressing of secondary muscle adaptations. Crosscontinental validation demonstrates equivalent outcomes between European technologydependent and African human-intensive approaches when therapeutic intensity and neuroplasticity targeting remain consistent.Neuroplasticity-driven intensive rehabilitation can overcome learned helplessness and achieve meaningful motor recovery years after stroke without requiring expensive technology. Success depends on abandoning traditional recovery timelines, implementing culturally-adapted intensive protocols, and recognizing human expertise as the most powerful rehabilitation tool when properly applied.
Keywords: neuroplasticity, stroke rehabilitation, learned helplessness, constraint-induced movement therapy, cultural adaptation, resource-limited settings
Received: 21 Jul 2025; Accepted: 11 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 NPOCHINTO MOUMENI. 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: I. NPOCHINTO MOUMENI, University of Dschang, Dschang, Cameroon
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