Physiotherapy Commons^™

A Brain-Computer Interface For Closed-Loop Sensory Stimulation During Motor Training In Patients With Tetraplegia, Sarah Helen Thomas

Theses and Dissertations--Biomedical Engineering

Normal movement execution requires proper coupling of motor and sensory activation. An increasing body of literature supports the idea that incorporation of sensory stimulation into motor rehabilitation practices increases its effectiveness. Paired associative stimulation (PAS) studies, in which afferent and efferent pathways are activated in tandem, have brought attention to the importance of well-timed stimulation rather than non-associative (i.e., open-loop) activation. In patients with tetraplegia resulting from spinal cord injury (SCI), varying degrees of upper limb function may remain and could be harnessed for rehabilitation. Incorporating associative sensory stimulation coupled with self-paced motor training would be a means for supplementing …