Abstract
In post-stroke rehabilitation unit, upper limb (UL) function recovery is a subject of major interest to facilitate patient’s autonomy in everyday life. This recovery is deeply linked to plastic brain reorganisation. A better understanding of the brain-movement characteristics could help for guiding therapeutic interventions. Two neuro-imagery methods can be used for brain-movement evaluation: functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and electroencephalography (fEEG) respectively based on haemodynamic response and electrical activity of brain regions. Used together they could lead to a better spatiotemporal mapping of the brain lateralisation and reorganisation linked to UL recovery. This study aims to develop methods to evaluate post-stroke brain activations during specific UL movement. Stroke patients in chronic stage following an intensive UL rehabilitation were evaluated on two functional tasks (i.e. reaching target task and circular tracing task). A combined fNIRS-fEEG system was used to record motor cortex activations during each task. With 3 pilot patients we showed that performances with the paretic arm were lower than those with the non-paretic. With the fNIRS we showed a bi-hemispheric activation during paretic movement and a contralateral one during non-paretic. The fEEG confirm the brain lateralisation highlighting power modification in the alpha rhythm occurring at movement. The first results showed the feasibility of using these methods to evaluate UL movement brain activation. The quick setup needed to evaluate the patient is another benefit for developing them in rehabilitation units. With the complete data we want to show that used together they could provide linked information’s about brain activation and be used as a routine evaluation.