Sensory Feedback and Hand Motor Adaptation

Early Phase 1RecruitingNCT07598695

The Catholic University of America30 enrolled

Overview

The following experiment will be conducted with 15 chronic stroke survivors and 15 control subjects. Subjects will perform hand movements in the virtual reality environment using a head-mounted display. Quest's onboard cameras allow real-time tracking of hand motion, estimating joint angles of the finger and the thumb. For each feedback manipulation condition (i.e., movement amplification or reduction), the estimated joint angles will be multiplied by a factor greater than 1 (amplification) or a factor smaller than 1 (reduction). Then the newly-estimated hand posture will be displayed in the VR environment. Subjects will be randomly assigned into two groups (A and B), who will receive the assistance in a different order. Subjects will perform finger extension under three conditions: no sensory modulation, movement visual feedback (VF) amplification, and movement VF reduction (error augmentation), while their movement muscle activation patterns are recorded.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Masking

NONE

Enrollment

Conditions

Stroke

Interventions

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 20 YearsMax age: 70 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria for stroke group: * Age: 20 - 70 years old * First-ever unilateral cortical stroke with resultant hemiparesis at least 6 months prior to the experimental testing * Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity Section 31 - 55 Exclusion Criteria for both groups: * Presence of concurrent severe medical illness * Pain in hand or arm with movements * Loss of voluntary control of fingers and thumb * Inability to provide informed consent * Musculoskeletal injuries (e.g., fracture) or medical complications (e.g., severe cardiovascular disease).

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Joint range of motion (ROM)

range of motion of individual finger joints under each condition, measured by embedded cameras that digitize individual finger segments

Time frame: Periprocedural

Secondary Outcomes

Muscle activation

Activation level of hand muscles will be measured using surface EMG electrodes attached to the major hand muscles including extensor digitorum communis, flexor digitorum superficialis, and first dorsal interosseous.