Decoding imagined arm movements from non-invasive brain recordings to enable new motor rehabilitation therapies

Decoding Motor Imagery From Non-invasive Brain Recordings as a Prerequisite for Innovative Motor Rehabilitation Therapies

This trial will test whether non-invasive brain recordings (MEG/EEG and MRI) can detect imagined arm movements to help develop better rehabilitation for people with upper-limb problems after stroke.

Quick facts

• Phase: Not applicable
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 35 (estimated)
• Ages: 18 Years and up
• Sex: All
• Sponsor: Hospices Civils de Lyon (Academic / other)
• Locations: 1 site (Bron)
• Trial ID: NCT06469463 on ClinicalTrials.gov

What this trial studies

The study records brain activity using magnetoencephalography (MEG), electroencephalography (EEG), and MRI while healthy volunteers and stroke survivors imagine or perform simple arm movements. Researchers will compare traditional event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) measures with recent single-trial beta-burst analyses to determine which signals reliably indicate motor imagery. Right-handed healthy controls and eligible stroke patients who are not in the acute phase will be recruited to compare signal features and decoding performance. Results will inform non-invasive brain-computer interface methods aimed at supporting personalized motor rehabilitation.

Who should consider this trial

Good fit: Ideal participants are adults over 18 with residual upper-limb weakness after stroke who are medically stable (not in the acute phase), can give informed consent, and can undergo EEG/MEG/MRI sessions.

Not a fit: Patients in the acute phase of stroke, those with implanted devices or severe cognitive impairment that prevent understanding task instructions, or those unable to travel to the study site are unlikely to benefit from this protocol.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, this could enable more accurate brain-computer interfaces that guide personalized motor rehabilitation and potentially improve arm function after stroke.

How similar studies have performed: Prior research has reliably shown averaged ERD/ERS patterns in healthy individuals and some BCIs use these signals, but single-trial beta-burst decoding—particularly in stroke patients—is relatively novel and remains challenging.

Eligibility criteria

Inclusion Criteria:

Control group:

* Healthy subjects with age\> 18, male or female.
* Right handed (Due to the fact that unlike right-handed people, left-handed people tend to have more complicated somatotopic organization of the motor cortex, we will avoid confounding observed differences to differences attributable to anatomic factors).
* Registered with the French healthcare system.
* Motivated to participate in the study.
* Normal or corrected vision.
* Adequate knowledge of French language to be able to follow directions.
* Subjects must be able to listen and understand the study instructions.
* Subjects must be able to give written informed consent before participation.
* No history of neurological or psychiatric disease.
* No physical disability of the arms or wrists.
* No use of drugs affecting the central nervous system or self-reported abuse of any drugs.

Patient group :

* Male or female stroke patients over 18 years old.
* Stroke patients must be not be in the acute phase of stroke.
* Right-handed.
* Having motor disorders in at least one of the upper limbs following the stroke, possibly with moderate accompanying deficits but no cognitive deficits.
* Entitled to a social security scheme.
* Motivated to participate in the study.
* Having normal or corrected vision.
* Having a sufficient understanding of the French language to be able to follow directions.
* Able to listen and understand study instructions.
* Able to give their written informed consent before participating.

Exclusion Criteria:

* Subjects with characteristics incompatible with MEG and MRI :

  1\. Claustrophobia.
* Subjects with motor impairment (only applies to control group), severe traumatic brain injury.
* Subjects with chronic stroke (applies to both groups).
* Subjects history of skin disease or skin allergies (multiple or severe).
* Subjects who:

  1. have had an MRI within 2 weeks prior to the experiment.
  2. have implanted materials (any dental apparatus containing metal including or root canals or any metallic object, pacemaker, cochlear implanted in the body).
* Subjects working with metals in their professional lives.
* Pregnant or lactating women Pregnant or lactating women (check with a urinary test).
* Subjects who are not able to tolerate sitting for longer than 2 hours (the estimated length of an experimental session is about 2h30mins).
* Subjects with alcohol dependence (no consumption of alcohol or drugs at least 24 hours prior to the day of experiments).
* Subjects currently taking a medication that may have a strong effect on MEG or EEG recordings (e.g., antidepressants, stimulant medication, etc).
* Subjects who, in the opinion of the investigator, are not able or willing to comply with the protocol.
* Persons under guardianship or curatorship.
* Persons in emergency situations who cannot give their consent.
* Subjects under 18 years of age.
* Subjects under legal protection measures.
* Volunteers with contraindications to MEG examination
* Pacemaker.
* Implanted pump including insulin pump.
* Neurostimulator.
* Cochlear implants or other hearing aids.
* Metal prosthesis.
* Intracerebral / surgical aneurysm clips.
* Ocular or cerebral ferromagnetic foreign bodies in the upper body.
* Neurosurgical ventriculoperitoneal shunt valves.

Where this trial is running

Bron

• Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon - INSERM U1028 — Bron, France (Recruiting)

Study contacts

• Study coordinator: Jérémie MATTOUT, MD

Conditions Stroke Sequelae; Motor Imagery; Upper Limb Deficit; Motor imagery; motor rehabilitation; magnetoencephalography; electroencephalography