Hand Control With Invasive Feedback Is Not Impaired by Increased Cognitive Load

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Medicine

Background:

• Neural stimulation restores sensory feedback in upper-limb amputees, improving prosthesis control.
• The comparative advantages of invasive versus non-invasive sensory feedback remain unclear, especially under cognitive load.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of cognitive load on the performance and self-confidence of an upper-limb amputee using invasive (intraneural) versus non-invasive (electro-tactile) sensory feedback.

Main Methods:

• A trans-radial amputee performed motor tasks with a bidirectional prosthesis, with and without a concurrent cognitive task.
• Sensory feedback was delivered via intraneural or electro-tactile stimulation.
• Motor performance, manual accuracy, and self-confidence were assessed.

Main Results:

• Both feedback methods improved motor performance without cognitive load.
• Only intraneural feedback maintained manual accuracy during the cognitive task.
• Intraneural feedback yielded higher self-confidence.

Conclusions:

• Intraneural sensory feedback demonstrates superior robustness to dual-task interference compared to non-invasive methods.
• This study suggests a potential advantage of invasive sensory feedback for real-world prosthesis use.
• Findings support the development of invasive solutions for enhanced prosthetic sensory restoration.