Altered Cortical Activity during a Finger Tap in People with Stroke.
Priya Balasubramanian1, Roxanne P De Leon1, Dylan B Snyder1
1Department of Biomedical Engineering, Marquette University, P.O. Box 1881, Milwaukee, WI, 53201, USA.
Brain Topography
|May 9, 2024
Summary
People with stroke show delayed brain signal recovery and altered network connectivity after finger movement, potentially explaining prolonged muscle activation. This electroencephalography study highlights differences in event-related desynchronization and resynchronization patterns.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Rehabilitation Medicine
Background:
- Stroke survivors often exhibit prolonged muscle activation post-task.
- Understanding the neural underpinnings of this phenomenon is crucial for effective rehabilitation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate electroencephalography (EEG) temporal patterns during and after finger movement in chronic stroke patients.
- To correlate EEG findings with prolonged muscle activation observed in stroke.
Main Methods:
- Measured EEG beta band power and connectivity (tbPLV, tbCoh) during a cued index finger movement in 10 stroke patients and 10 controls.
- Quantified changes in EEG power (ERD/ERS) and inter-electrode connectivity relative to baseline.
Main Results:
- Stroke patients exhibited significantly lower event-related resynchronization (ERS) (7% vs 44%) and delayed transition from event-related desynchronization (ERD) to ERS (1.43s vs 0.90s) at the C3 electrode.
- Stroke group maintained heightened phase-locking value (tbPLV) and did not show the decrease in connectivity observed in controls post-movement.
Conclusions:
- Delayed cortical deactivation and altered sensorimotor-frontal connectivity post-movement in stroke may explain prolonged muscle activation.
- Cortical reorganization and altered sensory feedback likely contribute to these observed neural and motor control differences.
