KINGSTON, Ont. - Researchers at Queen's University have mapped out an important link between the brain and muscles in the body that may lead to a change in how people recover from a stroke.

Researchers tested the body's response to being hit or bumped and were able to pinpoint the part of the brain that helps correct the disturbance in movement.

Lead researcher Stephen Scott said the research demonstrates a complex response from the primary motor cortex of the brain to the involuntary movement.

A person who has a stroke in the primary motor cortex may experience varying levels of damage to the corrective pathway.

Now that researches have identified the part of the brain that generated this response, Scott said it may lead to changes in the way some stroke patients are taught to recover.

Where rehabilitation following a stoke is largely focused on motor skills, including doing exercises with the area of the body effected, Scott said this new finding may support an increased focus on sensory rehabilitation by finding ways to work around the damaged pathways.