Relapsing Remitting MS (RRMS)NCT07749690
Mental Rotation and Motor Imagery Training in Multiple Sclerosis
A study testing Laterality, Motor Imagery, and Mental Rotation Training in people with Relapsing Remitting MS (RRMS), run by Abant Izzet Baysal University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).
Trial summary
This randomized controlled trial investigated the effects of sequential laterality, motor imagery, and mental rotation training in individuals with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 18 to 65 years
- Conditions the study is for
- Relapsing Remitting MS (RRMS)
- What is being tested?
- Laterality, Motor Imagery, and Mental Rotation Training
- Could I receive a placebo?
- Yes, some participants may receive a placebo
- How many people
- 56 participants
- Where
- 1 siteTurkey (Türkiye)
- Study dates
- 15 Feb 2024to 15 Feb 2026
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
Key requirements
Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.
- Ages 18 to 65 years
- All sexes
- No healthy volunteers
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Diagnosed with definite relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis by a neurologist according to the revised McDonald criteria
- Not experiencing an acute MS relapse
- Mini Mental State Examination score ≥24
- No clinical MS relapse within the previous 3 months
- No corticosteroid treatment for an MS relapse within the previous 3 months
- Expanded Disability Status Scale score between 1.5 and 6.0
Show all 10Show fewer
- Modified Ashworth Scale score ≤2
- Sufficient communication ability to understand visual and verbal instructions and follow the training protocol
- Able to attend at least 80% of the planned sessions
- Able to complete the Movement Imagery Questionnaire-3
Who cannot join
- Any medication change within the previous 3 months
- Uncorrected severe visual or hearing impairment
- A communication disorder preventing the perception of or response to the visual and verbal stimuli used in the study
- Participation in another structured upper-extremity rehabilitation program or interventional study during the study period
- Presence of an additional neurological disorder
- Advanced sensory loss or proprioceptive impairment that could affect participation in the intervention
- Botulinum toxin injection within the previous 3 months
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
Turkey (Türkiye)1 site
Abant Izzet Baysal University Faculty of Health Science
Bolu, 14100
About this study
Official title: Mental Rotation and Motor Imagery Training for Upper-Extremity Function in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial
This randomized controlled trial investigated the effects of sequential laterality, motor imagery, and mental rotation training in individuals with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Both groups received conventional physiotherapy, while the intervention group received structured cognitive-motor training and the control group received active visual-attention training.
Read the detailed description
Fifty-four participants were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Both groups received 45-minute sessions three times per week for six weeks. Mental rotation ability was the primary outcome, while upper-extremity function, manual ability, motor imagery, grip strength, dexterity, and information-processing speed were assessed as secondary outcomes. Assessments were performed before and after the intervention by a researcher blinded to group allocation.
- Conditions
- Relapsing Remitting MS (RRMS)
- Being tested
- Laterality, Motor Imagery, and Mental Rotation Training, Active Visual-Attention Control Training
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
Laterality, Motor Imagery, and Mental Rotation TrainingOther
Participants received 30 minutes of conventional physiotherapy followed by 15 minutes of structured training, three times per week for six weeks. The training progressed sequentially through laterality recognition, motor imagery, and mental rotation. Laterality training involved identifying right- and left-hand images. Motor imagery training involved imagining the hand positions and movements shown in the images without performing an observable movement. Mental rotation training involved mentally rotating figures and selecting the correct response.
Active Visual-Attention Control TrainingOther
Participants received 30 minutes of conventional physiotherapy followed by 15 minutes of active visual-attention control training, three times per week for six weeks. The training included images of neutral objects, colors, geometric shapes, and symbols that did not depict body parts. Participants classified the images according to color, shape, size, position, or similarity and difference.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Multicomponent rotation training | Experimental | Participants received 30 minutes of conventional physiotherapy and 15 minutes of sequential laterality, motor imagery, and mental rotation training, three times per week for six weeks. Receives: Other: Laterality, Motor Imagery, and Mental Rotation Training |
| Sham training | Sham comparator | Participants received 30 minutes of conventional physiotherapy and 15 minutes of active visual-attention training using neutral objects, colors, shapes, and symbols, three times per week for six weeks. Receives: Other: Active Visual-Attention Control Training |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test
The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test a widely used mental rotation tests, consists of 30 three-dimensional spatial perception questions.
Measured: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention.
Secondary outcomes (6)
The Symbol Digit Modalities Test
The Symbol Digit Modalities Test is a widely used assessment tool for measuring information-processing speed in patients with MS.
Measured: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention.
Nine-Hole Peg Test
In the Nine-Hole Peg Test, nine wooden pegs were placed into a wooden board containing nine holes using one hand.
Measured: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention.
Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire
The Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire-20 (KVIQ-20) assesses visual and kinesthetic motor imagery abilities. The questionnaire consists of 20 items divided into two subscales: visual imagery (10 items) and kinesthetic imagery (10 items). Each item is scored on a five-point Likert scale ranging from 1 to 5. Each subscale has a score range of 10-50, and the total score ranges from 20 to 100. Higher scores indicate better motor imagery ability.
Measured: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention.
Grip Strength
Grip strength was assessed using a Jamar hand dynamometer.
Measured: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention
Abilhand
Abilhand is a patient-reported scale used to determine the perceived level of difficulty individuals experience when using their hands during activities of daily living. The Abilhand total raw score ranges from 0 to 46, with higher scores indicating better self-perceived manual ability in performing daily bimanual activities.
Measured: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention.
The Action Research Arm Test (ARAT)
The Action Research Arm Test was used to evaluate upper extremity functional capacity and consists of four subdomains: grasp, grip, pinch, and gross movement.
Measured: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention.
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted6 Aug 2026
- Study start15 Feb 2024
- Primary completion15 Jan 2026
- Study completion15 Feb 2026
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Other trials for Relapsing Remitting MS (RRMS)Studies of the same condition, open and under way.
- More trials run by Abant Izzet Baysal UniversityThe sponsor's other registered studies.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
More details
For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.
Study design
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- Phase N/A
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind
- Who is masked
- Participant, Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 56 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- Abant Izzet Baysal University
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Responsible party
- Principal investigator, Ramazan KURUL, Abant Izzet Baysal University
- Investigators
- Enes Tayyip Benli, phd, Principal investigator, Abant Izzet Baysal University
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07749690
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- AIBU-FTR-BENLI-010
- Status last verified
- Oct 2026
- First submitted
- 30 Jul 2026
- Last updated
- 15 Oct 2026
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- FDA-regulated drug
- No
- FDA-regulated device
- No
- Individual data sharing
- No
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 15 Oct 2026. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- Mental Rotation and Motor Imagery Training for Upper-Extremity Function in Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT07749690
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- AIBU-FTR-BENLI-010
- Conditions
- Relapsing Remitting MS (RRMS)
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 56 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- Abant Izzet Baysal UniversityUniversity, hospital or other
- Study start
- 15 Feb 2024 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 15 Jan 2026 (actual)
- Study completion
- 15 Feb 2026 (actual)
- First posted
- 6 Aug 2026 (actual)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
This randomized controlled trial investigated the effects of sequential laterality, motor imagery, and mental rotation training in individuals with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis. Both groups received conventional physiotherapy, while the intervention group received structured cognitive-motor training and the control group received active visual-attention training.
Detailed description
Fifty-four participants were randomly assigned to the intervention or control group. Both groups received 45-minute sessions three times per week for six weeks. Mental rotation ability was the primary outcome, while upper-extremity function, manual ability, motor imagery, grip strength, dexterity, and information-processing speed were assessed as secondary outcomes. Assessments were performed before and after the intervention by a researcher blinded to group allocation.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Treatment
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Double blind (participant, outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Multicomponent rotation training | Experimental | Other: Laterality, Motor Imagery, and Mental Rotation TrainingParticipants received 30 minutes of conventional physiotherapy and 15 minutes of sequential laterality, motor imagery, and mental rotation training, three times per week for six weeks. |
| Sham training | Sham comparator | Other: Active Visual-Attention Control TrainingParticipants received 30 minutes of conventional physiotherapy and 15 minutes of active visual-attention training using neutral objects, colors, shapes, and symbols, three times per week for six weeks. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 18 to 65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Not accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (10 listed)
- Diagnosed with definite relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis by a neurologist according to the revised McDonald criteria
- Not experiencing an acute MS relapse
- Mini Mental State Examination score ≥24
- No clinical MS relapse within the previous 3 months
- No corticosteroid treatment for an MS relapse within the previous 3 months
Key exclusion criteria (7 listed)
- Any medication change within the previous 3 months
- Uncorrected severe visual or hearing impairment
- A communication disorder preventing the perception of or response to the visual and verbal stimuli used in the study
- Participation in another structured upper-extremity rehabilitation program or interventional study during the study period
- Presence of an additional neurological disorder
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| Laterality, Motor Imagery, and Mental Rotation TrainingParticipants received 30 minutes of conventional physiotherapy followed by 15 minutes of structured training, three times per week for six weeks. The training progressed sequentially through laterality recognition, motor imagery, and mental rotation. Laterality training involved identifying right- and left-hand images. Motor imagery training involved imagining the hand positions and movements shown in the images without performing an observable movement. Mental rotation training involved mentally rotating figures and selecting the correct response. | Other | Multicomponent rotation training |
| Active Visual-Attention Control TrainingParticipants received 30 minutes of conventional physiotherapy followed by 15 minutes of active visual-attention control training, three times per week for six weeks. The training included images of neutral objects, colors, geometric shapes, and symbols that did not depict body parts. Participants classified the images according to color, shape, size, position, or similarity and difference. | Other | Sham training |
Primary outcome
The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test
Time frame: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention.
The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test a widely used mental rotation tests, consists of 30 three-dimensional spatial perception questions.
6 secondary outcomes
The Symbol Digit Modalities Test
Time frame: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention.
Nine-Hole Peg Test
Time frame: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention.
Kinesthetic and Visual Imagery Questionnaire
Time frame: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention.
Grip Strength
Time frame: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention
Abilhand
Time frame: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention.
The Action Research Arm Test (ARAT)
Time frame: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention.
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 15 Oct 2026.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: No
Related trials for Relapsing Remitting MS (RRMS)
RecruitingPhase 2
Hyperpolarized Carbon Metabolic Imaging in Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis, RRMS
Not yet recruiting
Multicenter Prospective Study Analyzing the Occurrence of Multiple Sclerosis Relapses Without Radiological Evidence: Myth or Reality?
Multiple Sclerosis, RRMS
RecruitingObservational study
Imaging the Interplay Between Axonal Damage and Repair in Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Relapsing-remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS)
Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Enes Tayyip Benli, phd principal investigator
Abant Izzet Baysal University
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing Laterality, Motor Imagery, and Mental Rotation Training in people with Relapsing Remitting MS (RRMS), run by Abant Izzet Baysal University at 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye).
The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.
Who may be eligible to take part?
The sponsor lists 10 inclusion and 7 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.
Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?
The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 15 Oct 2026. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.
Where is the study taking place?
The record lists 1 site in Turkey (Türkiye). Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.
What are the possible benefits and risks?
They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. Some participants in this study may receive a placebo. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.
Are results available for this study?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?
The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.
What does the primary outcome measure?
The Purdue Spatial Visualization Test (time frame: Baseline and immediately after the 6-week intervention.). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.
Where can I read the original study information?
Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?
No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.
How often is this information updated?
AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 15 Oct 2026; AzTrials last refreshed its copy on 2 Nov 2026.