Operant Conditioning for Rehabilitation After Stroke
- Conditions
- Stroke
- Interventions
- Other: Operant conditioning of motor evoked potentials
- Registration Number
- NCT05020080
- Lead Sponsor
- University of Houston
- Brief Summary
The purposes of this study include:
1. To test if multiple upper extremity muscles represented within a discrete primary motor cortex site reflect existing muscle synergies after stroke.
2. To test if altered muscle synergies and intermuscular coordination are malleable to motor evoked potential conditioning that induces corticospinal plasticity for the targeted muscle, wrist extensor carpi radialis
- Detailed Description
Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disabilities in the U.S., which can markedly impact the function of the upper extremity (UE). One of the major UE motor impairments is abnormal intermuscular coordination, which leads to impaired post-stroke function and life participation. Also, relatively little is understood about how stroke affects the corticospinal innervation of multiple UE muscles, visualized as multi-muscle motor evoked potentials (MEPs) to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the primary motor cortex (M1), and its association with intermuscular coordination and impaired UE motor function in stroke. Some studies have shown that improvement in corticospinal excitability for the affected limb may be able to improve intermuscular coordination and enhance motor function recovery after stroke. Operant conditioning is a method that can be used to produce not only targeted plasticity but also wider beneficial plasticity in multiple spinal/supraspinal pathways. Recent studies have shown that MEP operant up-conditioning can increase the corticospinal excitability for the targeted muscle in people with SCI in the UE and lower extremity (LE) and in the LE of multiple sclerosis.
For the aim 1 of the project, MEPs elicited by TMS will be applied at the hot spot for the wrist ECR. EMG signal from 15 UE muscle will be collected simultaneously during isometric force generation tasks. This aim will enroll 10 age-matched (age of 40-75 yo) healthy adult and 10 adult (age of 40-75 yo) stroke survivors. Each participant will have a single measurement session.
For the aim 2 of the project, 4 randomized out of 10 stroke survivors will perform operant conditioning method of the wrist ECR; also, assessment of the intermuscular coordination, UE Fugl-Meyer (FM), and Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) will be performed. Participants will have three visits per week for 10 weeks for training session. Finally, to test retention of the intervention effect, they will perform two assessment sessions one and three months after finishing the training.
Recruitment & Eligibility
- Status
- RECRUITING
- Sex
- All
- Target Recruitment
- 20
Not provided
Not provided
Study & Design
- Study Type
- INTERVENTIONAL
- Study Design
- SINGLE_GROUP
- Arm && Interventions
Group Intervention Description ECR MEP conditioning - Stroke Operant conditioning of motor evoked potentials MEP operant conditioning of ECR in stroke survivors
- Primary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Change in intermuscular coordination patterns (ICoPs) before any training, after the 12th and 24th conditioning sessions, respectively, and 1 and 3 months after the 24th conditioning, respectively EMGs will be recorded from 15 muscles. To assess whether wrist extensor MEP OC induces changes in the composition of intermuscular coordination patterns, non-negative matrix factorization will be applied to EMGs to identify and compare ICoPs.
Change in Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) score Time Frame: before any training, after the 12th and 24th conditioning sessions, respectively, and 1 and 3 months after the 24th conditioning, respectively 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 motor evoked potential (MEP) before any training, after the 12th and 24th conditioning sessions, respectively, and 1 and 3 months after the 24th conditioning, respectively To measure the amount of the corticospinal excitability of the target muscle (extensor carpi radialis) and its antagonist (flexor carpi radialis), MEPs will be elicited while the participant provides \~30% maximum voluntary contraction level of each muscle background electromyographic (EMG) signals. For all trials, transcranial magnetic stimulation at \~10% above active motor threshold at the optimum location of the cortex will be used to elicit the MEP.
Change in Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) score before any training, after the 12th and 24th conditioning sessions, respectively, and 1 and 3 months after the 24th conditioning, respectively 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).
- Secondary Outcome Measures
Name Time Method Change in force errors that occur during isometric wrist force tracking tasks before any training, after the 12th and 24th conditioning sessions, respectively, and 1 and 3 months after the 24th conditioning, respectively As a mechanistic outcome, force errors that occur during isometric wrist force tracking tasks (ramp up-hold-ramp down) will be recorded to assess wrist motor control function that can change as corticospinal excitability increases through MEP up-conditioning.
Trial Locations
- Locations (1)
University of Houston
🇺🇸Houston, Texas, United States