Investigating the Neural Basis of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)-based Stroke Rehabilitation

The application of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) shows promising results in stroke rehabilitation, but the underlying neural substrates and processes of successful BCI-based neurorehabilitation remain unclear. The goal of our present work was to identify the brain areas associated with successful visuomotor integration and motor learning (VMIL), and investigate their connection with successful sensorimotorrhythm (SMR)-modulation commonly used in stroke rehabilitation related BCI systems. Our hypothesis was that neural processes associated with VMIL are linked to characteristics of the SMR, and thus share a common neural basis. Preliminary results indicate that the areas used to predict the current state of VMIL overlap with, but are not confined to, those areas used for SMR-based BCI training in stroke rehabilitation. This supports our hypothesis that VMIL and successful SMR modulation used in stroke BCI training share a common neural basis.