The Effectiveness of Cognitive Training Using Electroencephalography in Acute Stroke Cases

Background/Objectives: Approximately 17 million individuals worldwide experience stroke annually. Stroke-induced cerebral hypoxia or infarction can impair multiple cognitive domains. This study aims to monitor the cognitive abilities of patients with acute stroke through the intervention of electroencephalogram (EEG) devices. Methods: Patients from the neurology ward were invited to participate after obtaining study approval from the research ethics committees of a medical center in northern Taiwan. Participation was explained to the eligible individuals, and only those who met the criteria and signed the informed consent form were included. The participants were those who agreed to undergo 10 sessions of the EEG training. Ultimately, 30 valid samples were collected. The effectiveness of the intervention was analyzed using the pre- and post-test results of the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Conners' Continuous Performance Test (CPT3). Results: After 10 EEG intervention sessions, the patients showed significant differences in the pre- and post-test results of the MMSE and CPT3 (p = 0.0001 and p = 0.007, respectively). The EEG training suggests a possible association with changes in cognitive performance following stroke. Conclusions: EEG-based interventions may be potentially associated with cognitive improvement. The effects appeared similar across patient subgroups; however, given the pilot nature of this study and the absence of a control group, the findings should be interpreted cautiously. Further well-designed controlled studies are needed to confirm these preliminary observations and evaluate their clinical applicability.