Coherent neural oscillations inform early stroke motor recovery

Neural oscillations may contain important information pertaining to stroke rehabilitation. This study examined the predictive performance of electroencephalography-derived neural oscillations following stroke using a data-driven approach. Individuals with stroke admitted to an inpatient rehabilitation facility completed a resting-state electroencephalography recording and structural neuroimaging around the time of admission and motor testing at admission and discharge. Using a lasso regression model with cross-validation, we determined the extent of motor recovery (admission to discharge change in Functional Independence Measurement motor subscale score) prediction from electroencephalography, baseline motor status, and corticospinal tract injury. In 27 participants, coherence in a 1-30 Hz band between leads overlying ipsilesional primary motor cortex and 16 leads over bilateral hemispheres predicted 61.8% of the variance in motor recovery. High beta (20-30 Hz) and alpha (8-12 Hz) frequencies contributed most to the model demonstrating both positive and negative associations with motor recovery, including high beta leads in supplementary motor areas and ipsilesional ventral premotor and parietal regions and alpha leads overlying contralesional temporal-parietal and ipsilesional parietal regions. Electroencephalography power, baseline motor status, and corticospinal tract injury did not significantly predict motor recovery during hospitalization (R²  = 0-6.2%). Findings underscore the relevance of oscillatory synchronization in early stroke rehabilitation while highlighting contributions from beta and alpha frequency bands and frontal, parietal, and temporal-parietal regions overlooked by traditional hypothesis-driven prediction models.