Background. While it is evident that stroke impairs motor control, it remains unclear whether stroke impacts motor adaptation, the ability to flexibly modify movements in response to changes in the body and the environment. The mixed results in the literature may be due to differences in participants' brain lesions, sensorimotor tasks, or a combination of both. Objective. We first sought to better understand the overall impact of stroke on motor adaptation and then delineated the impact of lesion hemisphere and sensorimotor task on adaptation poststroke. Methods. Following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 17 studies comparing individuals poststroke to neurotypical controls, with each group consisting of over 200 participants. Results. We found that stroke impairs motor adaptation (d = -0.64; 95% CI [-1.06, -0.22]), and that the extent of this impairment did not differ across sensorimotor tasks but may vary with the lesioned hemisphere. Specifically, we observed greater evidence for impaired adaptation in individuals with left hemisphere lesions compared to those with right hemisphere lesions. Conclusions. This review not only clarifies the detrimental effect of stroke on motor adaptation but also underscores the need for finer-grained studies to determine precisely how various sensorimotor learning mechanisms are impacted. The current findings may guide future mechanistic and applied research at the intersection of motor learning and neurorehabilitation.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health

I confirm all relevant ethical guidelines have been followed, and any necessary IRB and/or ethics committee approvals have been obtained.

Yes

The details of the IRB/oversight body that provided approval or exemption for the research described are given below:

This work used only data that were openly available to the public before the initiation of the study.

I confirm that all necessary patient/participant consent has been obtained and the appropriate institutional forms have been archived, and that any patient/participant/sample identifiers included were not known to anyone (e.g., hospital staff, patients or participants themselves) outside the research group so cannot be used to identify individuals.

Yes

I understand that all clinical trials and any other prospective interventional studies must be registered with an ICMJE-approved registry, such as ClinicalTrials.gov. I confirm that any such study reported in the manuscript has been registered and the trial registration ID is provided (note: if posting a prospective study registered retrospectively, please provide a statement in the trial ID field explaining why the study was not registered in advance).

Yes

I have followed all appropriate research reporting guidelines, such as any relevant EQUATOR Network research reporting checklist(s) and other pertinent material, if applicable.

Yes