The experimental protocol demonstrates the paradigm for acquiring and analyzing electroencephalography (EEG) signals during upper limb movement in individuals with stroke. The alteration of the functional network of low-beta EEG frequency bands was observed during the movement of the impaired upper limb and was associated with the degree of motor impairment.
Alteration of electroencephalography (EEG) signals during task-specific movement of the impaired limb has been reported as a potential biomarker for the severity of motor impairment and for the prediction of motor recovery in individuals with stroke. When implementing EEG experiments, detailed paradigms and well-organized experiment protocols are required to obtain robust and interpretable results. In this protocol, we illustrate a task-specific paradigm with upper limb movement and methods and techniques needed for the acquisition and analysis of EEG data. The paradigm consists of 1 min of rest followed by 10 trials comprising alternating 5 s and 3 s of resting and task (hand extension)-states, respectively, over 4 sessions. EEG signals were acquired using 32 Ag/AgCl scalp electrodes at a sampling rate of 1,000 Hz. Event-related spectral perturbation analysis associated with limb movement and functional network analyses at the global level in the low-beta (12-20 Hz) frequency band were performed. Representative results showed an alteration of the functional network of low-beta EEG frequency bands during movement of the impaired upper limb, and the altered functional network was associated with the degree of motor impairment in chronic stroke patients. The results demonstrate the feasibility of the experimental paradigm in EEG measurements during upper limb movement in individuals with stroke. Further research using this paradigm is needed to determine the potential value of EEG signals as biomarkers of motor impairment and recovery.
Upper limb motor impairment is one of the most common consequences of stroke and is related to limitations in activities of daily living1,2. Alpha (8-13 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) band rhythms are known to be closely associated with movements. In particular, studies have shown that altered neural activity in the alpha and lower beta (12-20 Hz) frequency bands during movement of an impaired limb is correlated with the degree of motor impairment in individuals with stroke3,4,5. Based on these findings, electroencephalography (EEG) has emerged as a potential biomarker that reflects both severity of motor impairment and possibility of motor recovery6,7. However, previously developed EEG-based biomarkers have proved inadequate for investigating the characteristics of motor impairment in individuals with stroke, largely due to their reliance on resting-state EEG data rather than task-induced EEG data8,9,10. Complex information processing related to motor impairments, such as the interaction between ipsilesional and contralesional hemispheres, can be revealed only through task-induced EEG data, not resting-state EEG. Therefore, further studies are not only required to explore the relationship between neuronal activities and motor impairment characteristics and to clarify the usefulness of EEG generated during movement of the impaired body part as a potential biomarker for motor impairment in individuals with stroke11.
Implementing EEG for assessing behavioral effects requires task-specific paradigms and protocols. To date, various EEG protocols have been suggested12, where individuals with stroke performed imagined or actual movements to induce movement-related brain activities11,13. In the case of imagined movements, about 53.7% of participants could not definitely imagine a corresponding movement (called "illiteracy") and thus failed to induce movement-related brain activities14. Moreover, it is difficult for individuals with severe stroke to move the entire upper extremity, and there is a possibility of unnecessary artifacts during data acquisition due to unstable movements. Therefore, guidance based on expert know-how is required to acquire task-related high-quality EEG data and neurophysiologically interpretable results. In this study, we comprehensively designed an experimental paradigm for individuals with stroke to perform a relatively simple hand movement task and provided an experimental procedure with detailed guidance.
By outlining the visualized experimental protocol in this article, we aimed to illustrate the specific concepts and methods used for the acquisition and analysis of neuronal activities related to the movement of the upper limb using an EEG system. In demonstrating the difference in neuronal activities via EEG between the paretic and nonparetic upper limbs in participants with hemiplegic stroke, this study aimed to present the feasibility of EEG using the described protocol as a potential biomarker for the severity of motor impairment in individuals with stroke in a cross-sectional context.
All experimental procedures were reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board of Seoul National University Bundang Hospital. For the experiments in this study, 34 participants with stroke were recruited. Signed informed consent was obtained from all participants. A signed informed consent was obtained from a legal representative if a participant met the criteria but could not sign the consent form because of disability.
1. Experimental setup
Figure 1: Schematic of the equipment setup. A PC (PC1) presenting experimental stimuli was connected to a trigger box, and another PC (PC2) was connected to an EEG amplifier. Stimulation events generated in PC1 were delivered to the EEG amplifier via the trigger box connected to PC1. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 2: Experimental paradigm used in this study. A single trial consisted of a hand extension movement of 3 s followed by a relaxation of 5 s. This pattern was repeated 10 times in a single session. A total of eight sessions were performed; four sessions involved affected hand movement, while the other four involved unaffected hand movement.This figure was adapted from Shim et al.17 with permission from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
2. Recording movement-related EEG data
Figure 3: Wireless connection procedure between an EEG amplifier and PC with the EEG recording software. Follow the steps in order: (A) select amplifier, (B) connect amplifier, (C) search for the connected amplifier for wireless connection, (D) connection complete. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 4: Impedance check procedure for each channel. All channels should be adjusted to green color for stable EEG measurement. It is recommended to conduct the experiment with an impedance of less than 20 KΩ. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 5: Real-time data monitoring procedure for each channel. Signals from all channels being measured can be monitored in real-time and can be zoomed in/out using the option (red box) on the top bar. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Figure 6: Screenshot for monitoring event information. The red bars indicate event makers that are presented each time a stimulus is provided by PC1. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
3. EEG data analysis
NOTE: This study provides precise guidelines for replicating the research concept. Therefore, it provides a brief outline of the analysis process and representative results. The detailed processes and the associated results can be found in a previous study17. This serves as an indication that Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. has granted permission for the use of copyrighted material.
Figure 7 presents the topographical low-beta ERD maps of each hand-movement task. A significantly strong low-beta ERD was observed in the contralesional hemisphere compared with the ipsilesional hemisphere for both the affected and unaffected hand-movement tasks.
Figure 7: Mean topographic maps for all patients performing the affected and unaffected hand movement tasks, respectively. The integrated topographic maps were obtained by inverting the ERD maps of the right hemiplegia group. A darker blue color represents a stronger ERD, indicating that the corresponding brain areas were more activated than other areas. CON denotes the intact contralesional hemisphere, and IPSI denotes the damaged ipsilesional hemisphere. This figure was adapted from Shim et al.17 with permission from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Table 1 shows the quantitative results of the four weighted global-level network characteristics. Alterations of network indices were observed during the movement task of the affected hand compared with the movement task of the unaffected hand. Both the strength and clustering coefficient indices were significantly reduced during the affected hand movement task compared with the unaffected hand movement task. Conversely, the path length significantly increased during the affected hand movement task. There was no significant difference in small-worldness between the two tasks.
We also assessed the correlation between the functional network indices and the degree of motor impairment using the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA). The alpha band ipsilesional network strength (rho = 0.340, p = 0.049), clustering coefficient (rho = 0.342, p = 0.048), and small-worldness (rho = 0.444, p = 0.008) showed a positive correlation with FMA score, while path length (rho = -0.350, p = 0.042) was negatively correlated with FMA scores. (Figure 8). The correlation between low-beta ipsilesional network indices showed a marginally significant correlation with FMA score (Strength rho = 0.328, p = 0.058, clustering coefficient rho = 0.338, p = 0.051, path length rho = -0.340, p = 0.049 respectively).
Figure 8: Correlations between the alpha ipsilateral functional network indices (strength, clustering coefficient, path length, and small-worldness) and Fugl-Meyer Assessment scores. This figure was adapted from Shim et al.17 with permission from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. Please click here to view a larger version of this figure.
Affected hand movement | Unaffected hand movement | p | |
Strength | 11.196 ± 1.690 | 11.625 ± 1.743 | 0.014* |
Clustering coefficient | 0.342 ± 0.056 | 0.356 ± 0.057 | 0.014* |
Path length | 3.249 ± 0.483 | 3.147 ± 0.456 | 0.021* |
Small-worldness | 0.897 ± 0.032 | 0.894 ± 0.030 | 0.405 |
Table 1: Mean and standard deviation values of whole brain network indices in the low-beta band. No specific unit is used for the network measures (*p < 0.05). This table was adapted from Shim et al.17 with permission from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.
Supplementary File 1: Experimental_stimulus.m. The programming software-based stimulus script. Please click here to download this File.
Supplementary File 2: myPLV.m. The in-house function for computing the Hilbert Transform-based PLV. Please click here to download this File.
This study has introduced an EEG experiment for measuring upper limb movement-related neuronal activities in individuals with stroke. The experimental paradigm and methods of acquisition and analysis of EEG were applied to determine the ERD patterns in the ipsilesional and contralesional motor cortex.
The results of the ERSP maps (Figure 7) demonstrated the difference in the degree of neuronal activation when moving the impaired and unaffected hands. The results were in concordance with the findings of previous articles26,27 and showed that the experimental setup is a feasible method that can be implemented in clinical research settings.
Past studies have primarily used resting-state EEG data to investigate the altered neuronal activity in individuals with stroke. However, this study employed task-specific EEG data measured during hand movement, which shows promise as a biomarker for predicting motor recovery17.
Certain important considerations for EEG recordings from a general perspective must be mentioned. In particular, the procedure for verifying event information outlined in step 2.2.3 is crucial for acquiring the precise timing of experimental events. This prevents inaccurate data segmentation, which could result in unreliable outcomes. Moreover, when experiments involve patients, clear and concise experimental designs are required to prevent fatigue and decreased concentration. In this study, the authors independently compared EEG patterns observed during the affected and unaffected hand movements within each participant, who ranged in age from 18 to 80. While there might be some aging effects on the EEG pattern among participants of different ages, the results likely primarily originated from two different conditions: affected or unaffected hand movements. However, considering the potential influence of age on EEG patterns, a wider age group is recommended for a more comprehensive analysis.
The paradigm used in this study involved alternating hand extension and relaxation tasks within a relatively short period (5 s and 3 s, respectively) multiple times. Participants with cognitive impairments struggled to understand the instructions and perform the task within the time limit. Thus, before recording EEG using this paradigm, researchers must thoroughly instruct the participant and, if possible, demonstrate the task to ensure the participant fully understands the paradigm and task. Therefore, one possible limitation of this paradigm is the exclusion of patients with cognitive impairments who cannot comprehend the experimental paradigm or severely locked-in patients who cannot execute the movement task. Often, cognitive impairment accompanies severe motor impairment in individuals with stroke28. As a result, the applicability of the paradigm in individuals with stroke is narrower compared with the resting-state EEG paradigm8,29. For severely locked-in patients with intact cognition, the paradigm could be applied by replicating the movement with motion imagination (motor imagery), which can also produce motor-related brain activity30,31.
Moreover, there are two important points to consider when conducting an experiment based on the aforementioned EEG device. First, to ensure stable data recording, checking electrode impedance before every acquisition session as per the procedure in step 2.1.9 is highly recommended. If impedance information is not properly reflected, errors may occur when converting the initial file format (.vhdr) to the desired file format (e.g., “.mat”, “.py”, etc.). Second, in this study, the EEG amplifier was connected to a recording PC via a USB cable. For stable connections between the recording PC and USB cable, a USB 2.0 port is highly recommended; technical issues related to the EEG amplifier connection may arise if a USB 3.0 port is used.
The proposed experimental protocol allows for the observation of EEG patterns elicited during movements in patients with motor function impairments. Further investigations using this paradigm are required to confirm its value as a qualitative assessment tool for evaluating the extent of motor function recovery in individuals with stroke undergoing motor rehabilitation.
The authors have nothing to disclose.
This work was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. NRF-2022R1A2C1006046), by the Original Technology Research Program for Brain Science through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (2019M3C7A1031995), by National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (No. NRF-2022R1A6A3A13053491), and by the MSIT(Ministry of Science and ICT), Korea, under the ITRC (Information Technology Research Center) support program (IITP-2023-RS-2023-00258971) supervised by the IITP (Institute for Information & Communications Technology Planning & Evaluation).
actiCAP | Easycap, GmbH Ltd., Herrsching, Germany | CAC-32-SAMW-56 | Textile EEG cap platform to accommodate EEG electrodes |
Brain Vision Recorder (Software) | Brain Products GmBH Ltd., Munich, Germany | – | Software used to record EEG signal |
Curry 7 (Software) | Compumedics, Australia | – | Software used in preprocessing of EEG data |
LiveAmp | Brain Products, GmbH Ltd., Gilching, Germany | LA-055606-0348 | EEG system (amplifier) used for the measurement |
MATLAB R2019a (Software) | MathWorks Inc., Natick, MA, USA | – | Software used to run the experimental stimulus and analyze the EEG data |
Recording PC | Lenovo Group Limited, Hong Kong, China | Model: X58K | Intel Core i7-7700HQ CPU@2.80 GHz, RAM 8 GB /EEG data recording using Brain Vision Recorder |
Sensor&Trigger Extension(STE) | Brain Products GmBH Ltd., Munich, Germany | STE-055604-0162 | Adds physioloigcal signals to the EEG amplifier |
Splitter box | Brain Products GmBH Ltd., Munich, Germany | BP-135-1600 | Connects Ag/AgCl electrodes to the EEG amplifier |
Stimulation PC | Hansung Corporation, Seoul, Korea | Model: ThinkPad P71 | Intel Core i7-8750H CPU@2.20 GHz, RAM 8 GB Presenting stimulation screen using MATLAB |
TriggerBox | Brain Products GmBH Ltd., Munich, Germany | BP-245-1010 | Receives trigger signal from PC and relay it to EEG recording system |