Abstract
Background: Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a technique for brain modulation that has potential to be used in motor neurorehabilitation. Considering that the cerebellum and motor cortex exert influence on the motor network, their stimulation could enhance motor functions, such as motor imagery, and be utilized for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) during motor neurorehabilitation. Methods: A new tDCS montage that influences cerebellum and either right-hand or feet motor area is proposed and validated with a simulation of electric field. The effect of current density (0, 0.02, 0.04 or 0.06 mA/cm2) on electroencephalographic (EEG) classification into rest or right-hand/feet motor imagery was evaluated on 5 healthy volunteers for different stimulation modalities: 1) 10-minutes anodal tDCS before EEG acquisition over right-hand or 2) feet motor cortical area, and 3) 4-seconds anodal tDCS during EEG acquisition either on right-hand or feet cortical areas before each time right-hand or feet motor imagery is performed. For each subject and tDCS modality, analysis of variance and Tukey-Kramer multiple comparisons tests (p <0.001) are used to detect significant differences between classification accuracies that are obtained with different current densities. For tDCS modalities that improved accuracy, t-tests (p <0.05) are used to compare μ and β band power when a specific current density is provided against the case of supplying no stimulation. Results: The proposed montage improved the classification of right-hand motor imagery for 4 out of 5 subjects when the highest current was applied for 10 minutes over the right-hand motor area. Although EEG band power changes could not be related directly to classification improvement, tDCS appears to affect variably different motor areas on μ and/or β band. Conclusions: The proposed montage seems capable of enhancing right-hand motor imagery detection when the right-hand motor area is stimulated. Future research should be focused on applying higher currents over the feet motor cortex, which is deeper in the brain compared to the hand motor cortex, since it may allow observation of effects due to tDCS. Also, strategies for improving analysis of EEG respect to accuracy changes should be implemented.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 31 |
| Pages (from-to) | 31 |
| Journal | Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 19 Apr 2017 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:The study here presented is part of the Associate Project - Decoding and stimulation of motor and sensory brain activity to support long term potentiation through Hebbian and paired associative stimulation during rehabilitation of gait (DPI2014-58431-C4-2-R), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund “A way to build Europe”, in which different approaches are being conducted in order to evaluate the potential positive results derived from a new tDCS montage upon motor rehabilitation. The proposed montage disposition is aimed to improve motor performance of both lower and upper limbs by enhancing the excitability of stroke patients’ motor pathways.
Funding Information:
This research has been carried out in the framework of the project Associate - Decoding and stimulation of motor and sensory brain activity to support long term potentiation through Hebbian and paired associative stimulation during rehabilitation of gait (DPI2014-58431-C4-2-R), funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) “A way to build Europe”. We also thank the Mexican Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT) for the fellowship of I.N. Angulo-Sherman (369756).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 The Author(s).
All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes
- Rehabilitation
- Health Informatics