Sensory Feedback and Hand Motor Adaptation

Purpose

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.

Condition

  • Stroke

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Between 20 Years and 70 Years
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Inclusion Criteria

for stroke group: - Age: 18 - 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). Healthy Group:

Study Design

Phase
Early Phase 1
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Crossover Assignment
Primary Purpose
Basic Science
Masking
None (Open Label)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
Experimental
Visual ROM augmentation followed by visual ROM reduction
  • Device: Visual ROM augmentation
    Finger joint ROM is amplified.
  • Device: Visual ROM reduction
    Visual feedback of finger joint ROM is reduced.
Experimental
Visual ROM reduction followed by visual ROM augmentation
  • Device: Visual ROM augmentation
    Finger joint ROM is amplified.
  • Device: Visual ROM reduction
    Visual feedback of finger joint ROM is reduced.

Recruiting Locations

Catholic University of America
Washington D.C., District of Columbia 20064
Contact:
Sang Wook Lee, PhD
312-608-8001
leesw@cua.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
The Catholic University of America

Study Contact

Sang Wook Lee, PhD
202-319-6218
leesw@cua.edu