The purposes of this study include:
1. \- To identify whether features of aberrant intermuscular coordination patterns can be used to predict motor impairment after stroke. 2. \- To test whether muscle synergies are malleable to a non-invasive EMG-guided exercise that induces changes in intermuscular coordination of upper extremity muscles after stroke.
Male or female whose age range between 40 and 75
no known neurological injuries
have an orthopedic disorder involving upper limbs;
have a history of any neurologic disease;
have any history of epilepsy of the potential participants and/or their family members;
are unable to consent;
Parallel
Neuromuscular coordination-guided rehabilitative training
Other interventionDuring training exercise, post-stroke participants will be asked to match the targets on the screen. The experimental group will match them by activating a specific set of muscle. During assessment trials, a physical therapist or occupational therapist will rate the functional level of arm impairment using FMA and ARAT.
Force strengthening-guided rehabilitative training
Other interventionDuring training exercise, post-stroke participants will be asked to match the targets on the screen. The active comparator group will match them by generating isometric force in a desired target direction. During assessment trials, a physical therapist or occupational therapist will rate the functional level of arm impairment using FMA and ARAT.
Change in Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) score
To measure severity of motor impairment after stroke, FMA will be performed in the human upper extremity. FMA is commonly used to assess severity of motor impairment and motor recovery. The maximum FMA upper extremity motor score is 66 (i.e., 0: complete motor impairment; 66: normal motor performance). Each item is scored on a 3-point scale (0 = cannot perform, 1 = performs partially, 2 = performs fully).
Change in Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) score
To measure motor function after stroke, ARAT will be performed in the human upper extremity. 19 Items comprising the ARAT are categorized into four subscales (grasp, grip, pinch, and gross movement) and arranged in order of decreasing difficulty, with the most difficult task examined first, followed by the least difficult task. Task performance is rated on a 4-point scale, ranging from 0 (no movement) to 3 (movement performed normally).
Change in intermuscular coordination patterns
EMGs will be recorded from 12 muscles. To assess whether muscle-synergy guided and/or force-guided exercise induce changes in the composition of intermuscular coordination patterns, non-negative matrix factorization will be applied to EMGs to identify and compare ICoPs. The features from EMG are muscle synergy (motor module) composition and activation profiles.
Brain imaging data recording
A non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG) measurement setup will be employed to collect the EEG signal, specifically, thirty-two EEG electrodes will be placed on the scalp, and EEG signals will be measured during an isometric assessment. From EEG, cortico-muscular connectivity, cortico-cortical connectivity, and spectral power features will be extracted.
Click on the lead sponsor to view all of their trials.
University of Houston
Lead sponsor
Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
Collaborator
The University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston
Collaborator
