Cortical Response and Functional Connectivity in Patients With Subacute Stroke During Dual Task: An fNIRS Study

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Medicine
• Neuroimaging

Background:

• Understanding neural plasticity is crucial for stroke recovery.
• Motor-cognitive dual-task paradigms may reveal compensatory mechanisms.
• Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) offers a non-invasive method to assess brain activity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate neural plasticity changes in subacute stroke patients during single motor task and dual-task execution.
• To compare hemodynamic responses and functional connectivity (FC) between stroke patients and healthy controls.
• To evaluate the feasibility of fNIRS for real-time assessment of neuroplasticity in stroke rehabilitation.

Main Methods:

• A case-control study involving 20 subacute stroke patients and 20 healthy controls.
• fNIRS was used to measure brain activity in prefrontal, motor, and occipital regions during single motor and dual-task conditions.
• Functional connectivity (FC) was calculated for each task state.

Main Results:

• Healthy controls showed widespread activation increases during dual-task vs. single motor task.
• Stroke patients exhibited enhanced activation in the ipsilesional prefrontal cortex and contralesional supplementary motor area.
• FC analysis revealed increased prefrontal-premotor connectivity in controls, while stroke patients showed enhanced bilateral prefrontal, premotor, and occipital connectivity.

Conclusions:

• Motor-cognitive dual-task paradigms effectively induce activation and enhance interhemispheric functional connectivity in stroke patients.
• Dual-task training demonstrates significant neuromodulatory effects in stroke rehabilitation.
• fNIRS combined with motor paradigms is feasible for real-time assessment of neuroplasticity changes.