Effects of MEG-based neurofeedback for hand rehabilitation after tetraplegia: preliminary findings in cortical modulations and grip strength

Authors

Stephen T. Foldes, VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America. Rehab Neural Engineering Labs, Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America. Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA, United States of America. Barrow Neurological Institute, Phoenix Children's Hospital, Phoenix, AZ, United States of America.Follow
Michael L. Boninger
Douglas J. Weber
Jennifer L. Collinger

Document Type

Article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Neurofeedback (NF) trains people to volitionally modulate their cortical activity to affect a behavioral outcome. We evaluated the feasibility of using NF to improve hand function after chronic cervical-level spinal cord injury (SCI) using biologically-relevant visual feedback of motor-related brain activity and an intuitive control scheme. APPROACH: The NF system acquired magnetoencephalography (MEG) data in real-time to provide feedback of event-related desynchronization (ERD) measured over the sensorimotor cortex during attempted hand grasping. During brain control, stronger ERD resulting from attempted grasping drove the virtual hand towards a more closed grasp, while less ERD drove the hand more open. MAIN RESULTS: Eight individuals with partial or complete hand impairment due to chronic SCI controlled the NF to perform a grasping task that increased in difficulty as the participants achieved success. During their first NF session, participants achieved an average success rate of 63.7 ± 6.4% (chance level of 13.9%). After as few as one intervention session, four of the seven individuals evaluated for ERD changes had significantly strengthened ERD and three of the four participants with measurable grip strength prior to NF had increased grip strength. Interestingly, both individuals who participated in a longer-term study (i.e. >8 NF sessions) had improved grip strength and significantly strengthened ERD. SIGNIFICANCE: This study demonstrates that MEG-based NF training can change brain activity in individuals with hand impairment due to SCI and has the potential to induce acute changes in grip strength. Future studies will evaluate whether neuroplasticity induced with long term NF can improve hand function for those with moderate impairment.

Medical Subject Headings

Hand; Hand Strength; Humans; Magnetoencephalography; Neurofeedback; Quadriplegia (etiology)

Publication Date

4-9-2020

Publication Title

Journal of neural engineering

E-ISSN

1741-2552

Volume

17

Issue

2

First Page

026019

PubMed ID

32135525

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1088/1741-2552/ab7cfb

Recommended Citation

Foldes, Stephen T.; Boninger, Michael L.; Weber, Douglas J.; and Collinger, Jennifer L., "Effects of MEG-based neurofeedback for hand rehabilitation after tetraplegia: preliminary findings in cortical modulations and grip strength" (2020). Translational Neuroscience. 2202.
https://scholar.barrowneuro.org/neurobiology/2202