Sense and Mind method: an innovative methodological approach to embodied rehabilitation

As neurorehabilitation research expands, it is crucial to ensure that scientific findings are integrated into neurorehabilitation clinical practice. Building on evidence about embodied cognition, this paper proposes an innovative method called Sense and Mind (SaM), designed for individuals with neurodevelopmental and acquired neurocognitive and neuromotor impairments. It aims to rehabilitate spatial cognition and executive functions from the patient’s bodily experience. A description of the theoretical bases of the SaM method is provided. Theory construct involves neuroscientific evidence relative to embodied cognition, movement and action, spatial representation, mental imagery, and executive functions. Furthermore, a description of the methodological structure is outlined, allowing for interventions with the patient at different levels of complexity and with various goals through a restitutive approach, ranging from programming voluntary movement to constructing and using mental images. Through different goal-directed activities based on multimodal sensory experiences, the SaM method focuses on recovering executive functions, which are crucial for daily life. The SaM method, through an individualised approach based on each patient’s psychomotor profile, can be helpful for neuromotor and neuropsychological rehabilitation of several types of disabilities. Further studies are necessary to investigate its efficacy on larger samples of patients.