Investigating the Use of a Brain-computer Interface Based on TMS Neurofeedback for Upper Limb Stroke Rehabilitation
The mechanisms and effectiveness of a technique to boost the brain's recovery mechanisms will be studied. Brain-Computer Interface (BCI),based on applying magnetic pulses (Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation, TMS) to the stroke damaged area in the brain, causing twitches in the paralysed muscles will be used. The size of these twitches are then displayed to the patient as neurofeedback (NF) on a computer screen in the form of a game. In the game, the aim for the patient is to learn how to make the twitches bigger by engaging appropriate mental imagery to re-activate the damaged brain region.
• Be in the sub-acute phase (2-26 weeks) post stroke.
• Single hemisphere lesion
• No previous transient ischemic attack (TIA)
• Upper limb functional impairment (0-2 power)
• No or negligible OCS broken hearts test score (visual neglect)
• No or almost no cognitive impairment (Pass or near pass MMSE and MOCA)
• Passes TMS-Safety Questionnaire
• Detectable motor evoked potential (MEP) in response to TMS