Objective: To investigate the clinical effects of the mirror neuron system (MNS)‐based training on upper extremity motor function and cognitive function in stroke patients.Methods: Sixty stroke patients (time from stroke onset 3–9 months) with upper extremity paresis (Brunnstrom stage II–IV) and cognitive impairment (MoCA score ≥ 15) were enrolled in this study. Patients were randomly allocated into MNS treatment group (N = 30) and control group (N = 30). Both groups underwent regular training for upper extremity motor function and cognitive function, and the MNS group was trained with a therapeutic apparatus named mirror neuron system training (MNST) including different levels of action observation training (AOT). Training lasted 20 min/day, 5 days/week for 8 weeks. MoCA, reaction time, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) were assessed at baseline and 8 weeks after training. Furthermore, Fugl‐Meyer assessment (FMA) and Modified Barthel index (MBI) were adopted to evaluated upper extremity motor function and daily life ability.Results: After 8 consecutive weeks’ training, both groups showed significant improvements on the upper extremity motor function, cognitive function, and daily life ability score after training (p < .05). The MNS group showed significantly improved upper extremity motor function and cognitive function (p < .05) compared with control group.Conclusions: Combining MNS‐based and conventional training can improve upper extremity motor function and cognitive function in stroke patients.

Background: Audiovisual stimulation, such as auditory stimulation, light stimulation, and audiovisual combined stimulation, as a non‐invasive stimulation, which can induce gamma oscillation, has received increased attention in recent years, and it has been preliminarily applied in the clinical rehabilitation of brain dysfunctions, such as cognitive, language, motor, mood, and sleep dysfunctions. However, the exact mechanism underlying the therapeutic effect of 40‐Hz audiovisual stimulation remains unclear; the clinical applications of 40‐Hz audiovisual stimulation in brain dysfunctions rehabilitation still need further research.Objective: In order to provide new insights into brain dysfunction rehabilitation, this review begins with a discussion of the mechanism underlying 40‐Hz audiovisual stimulation, followed by a brief evaluation of its clinical application in the rehabilitation of brain dysfunctions.Results: Currently, 40‐Hz audiovisual stimulation was demonstrated to affect synaptic plasticity and modify the connection status of related brain networks in animal experiments and clinical trials. Although its promising efficacy has been shown in the treatment of cognitive, mood, and sleep impairment, research studies into its application in language and motor dysfunctions are still ongoing.Conclusions: Although 40‐Hz audiovisual stimulation seems to be effective in treating cognitive, mood, and sleep disorders, its role in language and motor dysfunctions has yet to be determined.