Title : Mapping neuroplasticity in occupational therapy: Evidence-based interventions with measurable neural outcomes
Abstract:
Over the past two decades, neuroscience research has increasingly demonstrated that the adult brain retains the capacity for reorganization following acquired brain injury (ABI). Despite this growing body of evidence, rehabilitation practice often shifts quickly toward compensatory strategies, with limited integration of objective neural outcomes into clinical decision making. Occupational therapy (OT) is well positioned to deliver interventions that support neural recovery, yet there remains no OT-focused synthesis that clearly connects OT-deliverable interventions with measurable evidence of neuroplastic change. This disconnect limits both clinical translation and interdisciplinary understanding of OT’s role in recovery-oriented neurorehabilitation.
This presentation reports findings from a scoping review conducted as part of the Experiential Student Scholars Program at Texas Woman’s University. Guided by PRISMA ScR and Joanna Briggs Institute methodology, the review maps OT-deliverable interventions for adults with ABI, including stroke, traumatic brain injury, and multiple sclerosis, that demonstrate measurable neuroplastic change. Inclusion was restricted to studies reporting research-supported neural biomarkers of brain reorganization, such as functional MRI (fMRI), diffusion tensor imaging (DTI), electroencephalography (EEG), transcranial magnetic stimulation-derived motor evoked potentials (TMS MEPs), and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), alongside functional performance measures.
The synthesis clarifies which OT interventions have been examined using neural measures, where evidence of brain reorganization coincides with functional improvement, and where commonly used interventions lack corresponding neural data despite widespread clinical use. By organizing findings around these gaps, the review highlights persistent limitations in how neuroplasticity is evaluated within OT-relevant rehabilitation research.
Interventions examined include task-specific training, constraint-induced movement therapy, mirror therapy, bimanual training, sensory priming approaches, and technology-supported interventions such as robotics and virtual reality. The synthesis highlights where OT interventions have been paired with established neural biomarkers, an area that remains consistently underrepresented in the rehabilitation literature despite growing interest in recovery-focused care.
Findings are translated into clinician-focused evidence maps that visually link intervention types, neural measures, and functional domains. By centering neural outcomes supported by contemporary neuroscience research, this work clarifies OT’s contribution to brain reorganization and functional recovery. This session provides clinicians and researchers with an evidence-informed framework for selecting OT interventions that are supported by objective measures of neuroplastic change and intended to promote neural recovery in adults with ABI.
