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Updated: Jul 5, 2025
Electroencephalography Network Indices as Biomarkers of Upper Limb Impairment in Chronic Stroke
Published on: July 14, 2023
Alteration in Resting-State Brain Activity in Stroke Survivors After Repetitive Finger Stimulation
Dorothy He1, William A Sikora, Shirley A James
1From the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, College of Medicine, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (DH); University of Oklahoma, Stephenson School of Biomedical Engineering, Norman, Oklahoma (WAS); University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Hudson College of Public Health, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (SAJ); Department of Bioengineering, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois (JNW, YY); Department of Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma (LVL, CFC, YY); Department of Neurology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (ES); Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, UT Health Huston McGovern Medical School, Houston, Texas (SL); Clinical Imaging Research Center, Stephenson Family Clinical Research Institute, Carle Foundation Hospital, Urbana, Illinois (YY); Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois (YY); and Department of Physical Therapy and Human Movement Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois (YY).
Objective:
This quasi-experimental study examined the effect of repetitive finger stimulation on brain activation in eight stroke and seven control subjects, measured by quantitative electroencephalogram.
Methods:
We applied 5 mins of 2-Hz repetitive bilateral index finger transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and compared differences pre- and post-transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation using quantitative electroencephalogram metrics delta/alpha ratio and delta-theta/alpha-beta ratio.
Results:
Between-group differences before and after stimulation were significantly different in the delta/alpha ratio ( z = -2.88, P = 0.0040) and the delta-theta/alpha-beta ratio variables ( z = -3.90 with P < 0.0001). Significant decrease in the delta/alpha ratio and delta-theta/alpha-beta ratio variables after the transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation was detected only in the stroke group (delta/alpha ratio diff = 3.87, P = 0.0211) (delta-theta/alpha-beta ratio diff = 1.19, P = 0.0074).
Conclusions:
The decrease in quantitative electroencephalogram metrics in the stroke group may indicate improved brain activity after transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation. This finding may pave the way for a future novel therapy based on transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and quantitative electroencephalogram measures to improve brain recovery after stroke.
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