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Visual feedback alters force control and functional activity in the visuomotor network after stroke.
Derek B Archer1, Nyeonju Kang2, Gaurav Misra1
1Laboratory for Rehabilitation Neuroscience, Department of Applied Physiology and Kinesiology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States.
Neuroimage. Clinical
|December 5, 2017
Summary
Modulating visual feedback improves motor control after stroke by altering brain activity. This study reveals how visual gain changes impact the visuomotor network and cerebellum in stroke survivors.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Motor Rehabilitation
- Neuroimaging
Background:
- Visual feedback is crucial for motor control, but its neurophysiological basis after stroke remains unclear.
- Modulating visual feedback gain offers a potential avenue for motor function improvement post-stroke.
- Understanding brain activity changes related to visual feedback is vital for targeted rehabilitation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how manipulating visual feedback gain affects brain activity during a visually guided grip force task in chronic stroke survivors.
- To compare brain activation patterns between stroke patients and healthy controls.
- To elucidate the neurophysiological underpinnings of visual feedback modulation in motor recovery.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed to measure brain activity.
- Participants performed a unilateral visually guided grip force task with varying visual feedback gain.
- Analysis focused on brain activation in the most impaired hand of the stroke group versus the non-dominant hand of the control group.
Main Results:
- Increased activity in the visuomotor network (extrastriate visual cortex, inferior parietal lobule, premotor cortex, cerebellum, supplementary motor area) was observed with higher visual gain in both groups.
- Stroke survivors exhibited additional gain-related cerebellar activation (lobules VI and VIIb).
- The stroke group showed greater ipsilateral primary motor cortex activation compared to controls, independent of visual gain.
Conclusions:
- Visual feedback gain modulation influences the visuomotor network and cerebellum in chronic stroke.
- The ipsilateral primary motor cortex plays a distinct role in motor control post-stroke, irrespective of visual gain.
- These findings offer insights into brain mechanisms supporting visual feedback processing and inform stroke rehabilitation strategies targeting specific neural networks.
