Longitudinal Electroencephalography Analysis in Subacute Stroke Patients During Intervention of Brain–Computer Interface With Exoskeleton Feedback

Shugeng Chen, Lei Cao, Xiaokang Shu, Hewei Wang, Li Ding, Shui Hua Wang*, Jie Jia*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

32 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Background: Brain–computer interface (BCI) has been regarded as a newly developing intervention in promoting motor recovery in stroke survivors. Several studies have been performed in chronic stroke to explore its clinical and subclinical efficacy. However, evidence in subacute stroke was poor, and the longitudinal sensorimotor rhythm changes in subacute stroke after BCI with exoskeleton feedback were still unclear. Materials and Methods: Fourteen stroke patients in subacute stage were recruited and randomly allocated to BCI group (n = 7) and the control group (n = 7). Brain–computer interface training with exoskeleton feedback was applied in the BCI group three times a week for 4 weeks. The Fugl–Meyer Assessment of Upper Extremity (FMA-UE) scale was used to assess motor function improvement. Brain–computer interface performance was calculated across the 12-time interventions. Sensorimotor rhythm changes were explored by event-related desynchronization (ERD) changes and topographies. Results: After 1 month BCI intervention, both the BCI group (p = 0.032) and the control group (p = 0.048) improved in FMA-UE scores. The BCI group (12.77%) showed larger percentage of improvement than the control group (7.14%), and more patients obtained good motor recovery in the BCI group (57.1%) than did the control group (28.6%). Patients with good recovery showed relatively higher online BCI performance, which were greater than 70%. And they showed a continuous improvement in offline BCI performance and obtained a highest value in the last six sessions of interventions during BCI training. However, patients with poor recovery reached a platform in the first six sessions of interventions and did not improve any more or even showed a decrease. In sensorimotor rhythm, patients with good recovery showed an enhanced ERD along with time change. Topographies showed that the ipsilesional hemisphere presented stronger activations after BCI intervention. Conclusion: Brain–computer interface training with exoskeleton feedback was feasible in subacute stroke patients. Brain–computer interface performance can be an index to evaluate the efficacy of BCI intervention. Patients who presented increasingly stronger or continuously strong activations (ERD) may obtain better motor recovery.

Original languageEnglish
Article number809
JournalFrontiers in Neuroscience
Volume14
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 14 Aug 2020
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • BCI performance
  • event-related desynchronization
  • longitudinal change
  • motor recovery
  • stroke

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Longitudinal Electroencephalography Analysis in Subacute Stroke Patients During Intervention of Brain–Computer Interface With Exoskeleton Feedback'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this