Increased Alpha-Rhythm Dynamic Range Promotes Recovery from Visuospatial Neglect: A Neurofeedback Study.

Increased Alpha-Rhythm Dynamic Range Promotes Recovery from Visuospatial Neglect: A Neurofeedback Study. Neural Plast. 2017;2017:7407241 Authors: Ros T, Michela A, Bellman A, Vuadens P, Saj A, Vuilleumier P Abstract Despite recent attempts to use electroencephalogram (EEG) neurofeedback (NFB) as a tool for rehabilitation of motor stroke, its potential for improving neurological impairments of attention-such as visuospatial neglect-remains underexplored. It is also unclear to what extent changes in cortical oscillations contribute to the pathophysiology of neglect, or its recovery. Utilizing EEG-NFB, we sought to causally manipulate alpha oscillations in 5 right-hemisphere stroke patients in order to explore their role in visuospatial neglect. Patients trained to reduce alpha oscillations from their right posterior parietal cortex (rPPC) for 20 minutes daily, over 6 days. Patients demonstrated successful NFB learning between training sessions, denoted by improved regulation of alpha oscillations from rPPC. We observed a significant negative correlation between visuospatial search deficits (i.e., cancellation test) and reestablishment of spontaneous alpha-rhythm dynamic range (i.e., its amplitude variability). Our findings support the use of NFB as a tool for investigating neuroplastic recovery after stroke and suggest reinstatement of intact parietal alpha oscillations as a promising target for reversing attentional deficits. Specific...
Source: Neural Plasticity - Category: Neurology Authors: Tags: Neural Plast Source Type: research