Rehabilitation of Emotional Skills After Stroke
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Stroke is the leading cause of long-term functional deficits, which can be physical, cognitive or emotional. Most stroke research focuses on physical impairments, but researchers and clinicians think there is much to learn about how stroke survivors identify emotions.
When emotional deficits go undiagnosed and untreated, the resulting loss of ability can negatively impact social interactions and quality of life.
Sameer Ashaie, PhD, is focusing on addressing this key aspect of ability. His interest in how stroke survivors understand emotions was sparked when he realized that studies in this area have largely missed patients at early, critical stages in their recovery.
Addressing this gap, Dr. Ashaie and his team are using eye-tracking technology to study how stroke survivors identify emotions in words, faces and gestures.
This longitudinal study follows participants at one, three and nine months post-stroke to better understand their deficits and inform treatment plans. This research is integral to ensuring that therapy for emotional recognition is incorporated — early and often — in stroke rehabilitation. Understanding emotional impairment and catching it early will improve quality of life for
stroke survivors.
Meet the Researcher: Sameer Ashaie, PhD, MS
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Sameer Ashaie, PhD, MS, focuses his research primarily on aphasia rehabilitation, particularly post-stroke depression and related psychosocial disorders. He is also exploring linguistic changes in healthy aging, mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. He employs a variety of techniques, including non-invasive brain stimulation, eye-tracking and pupillometry.
Dr. Ashaie is the recipient of two National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) honors — the Switzer Merit Fellowship and an Advanced Rehabilitation Research and Training post-doctoral fellowship.
