ABSTRACT

The purpose of this review is to investigate neurobiological evidence of the importance of occupational therapy for neurorehabilitation, and to suggest what features should be included for inducing therapeutic effects on patients with neurological disorders. In occupational therapy, occupation is the therapeutic media used to improve the functional performance of participation and quality of life. Natural motivated behavior increases the levels of neurotrophic factors enhancing neural plasticity. Experience-dependent plasticity means that neural plasticity depends on the experience of the individual. Experience and occupation guide changes in the neural system, as reported by neuroscientific evidence in animals and humans. For various neurological disorders, experience-dependent plasticity was induced through occupational therapy. Occupational therapy should be a motivated task-oriented activity specified to a target performance skill, reparative, highly intensitive, and close to a real occupation in everyday life. This kind of therapeutic activity can enhance a patient's functional recovery through experience-dependent plasticity in the human brain.