CortIMod · Implementation and Preliminary Validation of a Novel Noninvasive Neuromodulation Technique to Restore Hand Movement and Promote Recovery after Stroke
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2016-11-01 → 2018-11-27
- EU contribution
- €195,455
- Participants
- 1
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-EF-ST
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Results in brief
Implementation and Preliminary Validation of a Novel Noninvasive Neuromodulation Technique to Restore Hand Movement and Promote Recovery after Stroke
Most stroke patients show incomplete motor recovery despite intensive rehabilitation. There is a need for novel and improved rehabilitation interventions. Noninvasive brain stimulation provides the possibility to harness neuroplasticity for motor rehabilitation. However, results so far with these techniques are variable, modest and not well-understood. Understanding and influencing the neural processes that allow humans to start and control movements and to learn new motor abilities is of great relevance to improve the recovery of patients who have suffered a brain lesion. This project has been aimed to propose new strategies to stimulate with higher efficacy the areas of the brain involved in the generation of voluntary actions. CortIMod merges innovative electrophysiological techniques with advanced brain signal processing methods to address two main questions: i) can brain stimulation specificity be improved using advanced models of motor cortical activation patterns and by exploiting the learning mechanisms of the brain? and ii) can a more selective brain stimulation lead to a finer control of the induced functional changes in plasticity studies? Under the framework of this project we have carried out a set of experiments involving over 200 sessions with healthy subjects and patients. First, experiments have allowed us to obtain results showing how brain stimulation protocols can increase specificity of the induced changes in the brain by using directional brain stimulation and by targeting narrow windows of time immediately preceding voluntary movements. Experiments have also been conducted to understand the features of the brain states during movement preparation. Our findings in this regard are relevant for the brain stimulation community because they provide new evidences about the brain processes involved in movement preparation. These results will have a significant impact in future experiments conducted by researchers aiming to understand certain movement disorders (like bradykinesia or tics). Finally, over the second year of the grant we have been able to demonstrate that muscle signals provide highly reliable information about ongoing rhythmic activities in the brain. This finding implies that it is possible to design future closed-loop platforms that can target highly specific brain states by using muscle signals recorded with surface electrodes on the skin.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
Stroke is a leading cause of adult chronic disability and has devastating socioeconomic costs. Severe hand paresis is a major contributor to chronic disability after stroke. New research opportunities offer the prospect of accelerating both the understanding of neurological disorders and the development of new therapies to improve rehabilitation by promoting neural plasticity. This project proposes an innovative multimodal platform integrating noninvasive electrophysiological recording and stimulation devices to “neuromodulate” the motor cortex. The platform will decode cortical states preceding human motor intentions to induce highly functional neural changes in the cortical circuits controlling hand muscles. I expect that the application of this new intervention will lead to unprecedented levels of motor recovery by reinforcing patients' remaining brain-muscle connections.I recently finished my Ph.D. in the emerging field of neural engineering. In it I developed technologies to study brain activities related to voluntary and pathological motor processes in neurological patients, and I designed real-time platforms integrating cortical signals with muscle electrical stimulation for neurorehabilitation. The research in this project together with the expertise of my supervisor and host constitute an unmatchable opportunity for me to develop and consolidate critical neuroscience, neural engineering, and clinical skills, which will broaden my current competencies. I will also enrich my network of collaborations and receive training on management, tutoring, teaching, proposal writing and ethics, which will allow me to become and independent and mature researcher. I expect that my research will have high impact in the EU society and I anticipate that, through this fellowship, I will promote research in neuromodulation from a multidisciplinary perspective and devise the possibilities to effectively transfer new technologies to the clinical practice.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON · LondonCoordinatorUnited Kingdom
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union