Operant Conditioning for Rehabilitation After Stroke

NCT ID: NCT05020080

Last Updated: 2023-11-29

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

RECRUITING

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

20 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2022-01-13

Study Completion Date

2024-07-12

Brief Summary

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The purposes of this study include:

1. To test if multiple upper extremity muscles represented within a discrete primary motor cortex site reflect existing muscle synergies after stroke.
2. To test if altered muscle synergies and intermuscular coordination are malleable to motor evoked potential conditioning that induces corticospinal plasticity for the targeted muscle, wrist extensor carpi radialis

Detailed Description

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Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disabilities in the U.S., which can markedly impact the function of the upper extremity (UE). One of the major UE motor impairments is abnormal intermuscular coordination, which leads to impaired post-stroke function and life participation. Also, relatively little is understood about how stroke affects the corticospinal innervation of multiple UE muscles, visualized as multi-muscle motor evoked potentials (MEPs) to transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the primary motor cortex (M1), and its association with intermuscular coordination and impaired UE motor function in stroke. Some studies have shown that improvement in corticospinal excitability for the affected limb may be able to improve intermuscular coordination and enhance motor function recovery after stroke. Operant conditioning is a method that can be used to produce not only targeted plasticity but also wider beneficial plasticity in multiple spinal/supraspinal pathways. Recent studies have shown that MEP operant up-conditioning can increase the corticospinal excitability for the targeted muscle in people with SCI in the UE and lower extremity (LE) and in the LE of multiple sclerosis.

For the aim 1 of the project, MEPs elicited by TMS will be applied at the hot spot for the wrist ECR. EMG signal from 15 UE muscle will be collected simultaneously during isometric force generation tasks. This aim will enroll 10 age-matched (age of 40-75 yo) healthy adult and 10 adult (age of 40-75 yo) stroke survivors. Each participant will have a single measurement session.

For the aim 2 of the project, 4 randomized out of 10 stroke survivors will perform operant conditioning method of the wrist ECR; also, assessment of the intermuscular coordination, UE Fugl-Meyer (FM), and Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) will be performed. Participants will have three visits per week for 10 weeks for training session. Finally, to test retention of the intervention effect, they will perform two assessment sessions one and three months after finishing the training.

Conditions

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Stroke

Study Design

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Allocation Method

NA

Intervention Model

SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Study Purpose

BASIC_SCIENCE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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ECR MEP conditioning - Stroke

MEP operant conditioning of ECR in stroke survivors

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Operant conditioning of motor evoked potentials

Intervention Type OTHER

MEPs elicited by TMS will be applied at the hot spot for the wrist extensor carpi radialis. During training trials, participants will be asked to increase the size of their MEP response. During assessment trials, a physical therapist or occupational therapist will rate the functional level of arm impairment using FMA and ARAT.

Interventions

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Operant conditioning of motor evoked potentials

MEPs elicited by TMS will be applied at the hot spot for the wrist extensor carpi radialis. During training trials, participants will be asked to increase the size of their MEP response. During assessment trials, a physical therapist or occupational therapist will rate the functional level of arm impairment using FMA and ARAT.

Intervention Type OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

* Male or female whose age range between 40 and 75
* no known neurological injuries


* male or female hemiparetic chronic stroke survivors;
* age ranging between 40-75 year;
* with single unilateral ischemic or hemorrhagic middle cerebral artery stroke;
* neurologically stable for \>6 months;
* have an expectation that current medication will be maintained without changes for at least 3 months. Stable use of anti-spasticity medication (e.g., baclofen, diazepam, tizanidine) is accepted;
* with moderate-to-severe impairments (FMA\<45/66);
* with weak wrist extension (i.e., \<4 by manual muscle strength test);
* eligible to receive transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and extensor carpi radialis (ECR) motor evoked potential (MEP) must be present in the more affected arm;
* without severe spasticity (Modified Ashworth (MA) \<4);
* have not received botulinum toxin on the impaired arm within 3 months.

Exclusion Criteria

* have an orthopedic disorder involving upper limbs;
* have a history of any neurologic disease;
* have any history of epilepsy of the potential participants and/or their family members;
* had an adverse reaction to TMS;
* are unable to consent;
* are pregnant.


* have an orthopedic disorder involving upper limbs;
* have no measurable MEP elicited in the ECR;
* unable to produce any voluntary ECR EMG activity;
* cognitive impairment sufficient to interfere with informed consent or successful completion of the protocol (Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) score \< 26);
* a history of another neurologic disease;
* a history of vertigo;
* a history of vestibular or cochlear dysfunction;
* have a history of convulsion or a seizure;
* anesthesia of joint position sense in upper limbs;
* are pregnant or have a chance that they might be (self-reported);
* have metal in the brain/skull (except titanium; e.g. splinters, fragments, clips, etc.);
* have cochlear implants;
* have an implanted neurostimulator (DBS, epidural/subdural, VNS);
* have a cardiac pacemaker or intracardiac lines or metal in the body;
* have a medication infusion device;
* are taking any medications to treat mental illness;
* have spinal or ventricular derivations;
* had an adverse reaction to TMS.
Minimum Eligible Age

40 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

75 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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National Center of Neuromodulation for Rehabilitation

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Houston

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Jinsook Roh

Assistant Professor

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Jinsook Roh, Ph.D.

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Houston

Locations

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University of Houston

Houston, Texas, United States

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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United States

Central Contacts

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Jinsook Roh, PhD

Role: CONTACT

7137432578

Manuel A Portilla-Jiménez, MS, BME

Role: CONTACT

3467194921

Facility Contacts

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Jinsook Roh, PhD

Role: primary

713-743-2578

Manuel A Portilla-Jiménez, MS, BME

Role: backup

3467194921

References

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Ting LH, Chiel HJ, Trumbower RD, Allen JL, McKay JL, Hackney ME, Kesar TM. Neuromechanical principles underlying movement modularity and their implications for rehabilitation. Neuron. 2015 Apr 8;86(1):38-54. doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.02.042.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25856485 (View on PubMed)

McMorland AJ, Runnalls KD, Byblow WD. A neuroanatomical framework for upper limb synergies after stroke. Front Hum Neurosci. 2015 Feb 16;9:82. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00082. eCollection 2015.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25762917 (View on PubMed)

Tresch MC, Jarc A. The case for and against muscle synergies. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2009 Dec;19(6):601-7. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2009.09.002. Epub 2009 Oct 12.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 19828310 (View on PubMed)

Roh J, Rymer WZ, Perreault EJ, Yoo SB, Beer RF. Alterations in upper limb muscle synergy structure in chronic stroke survivors. J Neurophysiol. 2013 Feb;109(3):768-81. doi: 10.1152/jn.00670.2012. Epub 2012 Nov 14.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 23155178 (View on PubMed)

Roh J, Rymer WZ, Beer RF. Evidence for altered upper extremity muscle synergies in chronic stroke survivors with mild and moderate impairment. Front Hum Neurosci. 2015 Feb 11;9:6. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2015.00006. eCollection 2015.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 25717296 (View on PubMed)

Thompson AK, Fiorenza G, Smyth L, Favale B, Brangaccio J, Sniffen J. Operant conditioning of the motor-evoked potential and locomotion in people with and without chronic incomplete spinal cord injury. J Neurophysiol. 2019 Mar 1;121(3):853-866. doi: 10.1152/jn.00557.2018. Epub 2019 Jan 9.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30625010 (View on PubMed)

Thompson AK, Cote RH, Sniffen JM, Brangaccio JA. Operant conditioning of the tibialis anterior motor evoked potential in people with and without chronic incomplete spinal cord injury. J Neurophysiol. 2018 Dec 1;120(6):2745-2760. doi: 10.1152/jn.00362.2018. Epub 2018 Sep 12.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30207863 (View on PubMed)

Thompson AK, Favale BM, Velez J, Falivena P. Operant Up-Conditioning of the Tibialis Anterior Motor-Evoked Potential in Multiple Sclerosis: Feasibility Case Studies. Neural Plast. 2018 Jul 15;2018:4725393. doi: 10.1155/2018/4725393. eCollection 2018.

Reference Type BACKGROUND
PMID: 30123249 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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STUDY00002996

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id