Reorganization of Resting-State EEG Functional Connectivity Patterns in Children with Cerebral Palsy Following a Motor Imagery Virtual-Reality Intervention

Author(s)

Stefano Filho, Carlos Alberto ^{[1, 2, 3]} ; Ignacio Serrano, Jose ^[3] ; Attux, Romis ^{[2, 4]} ; Castellano, Gabriela ^{[1, 2]} ; Rocon, Eduardo ^[3] ; del Castillo, Maria Dolores ^[3]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Estadual Campinas, Gleb Wataghin Inst Phys, Neurophys Grp, BR-13083859 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[2] Brazilian Inst Neurosci & Neurotechnol BRAINN, BR-13083859 Campinas, SP - Brazil

^[3] CSIC, Grp Neural & Cognit Engn, Ctr Automat & Robot, Madrid 28500 - Spain

^[4] Univ Estadual Campinas, Sch Elect & Comp Engn, Lab Signal Proc Commun, BR-13083859 Campinas, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: APPLIED SCIENCES-BASEL; v. 11, n. 5 MAR 2021.
• Web of Science Citations: 0

Abstract

Motor imagery (MI) has been suggested to provide additional benefits when included in traditional approaches of physical therapy for children with cerebral palsy (CP). Regardless, little is understood about the underlying neurological substrates that might justify its supposed benefits. In this work, we studied resting-state (RS) electroencephalography (EEG) recordings of five children with CP that underwent a MI virtual-reality (VR) intervention. Our aim was to explore functional connectivity (FC) patterns alterations following this intervention through the formalism of graph theory, performing both group and subject-specific analyses. We found that FC patterns were more consistent across subjects prior to the MI-VR intervention, shifting along the anterior-posterior axis, post-intervention, for the beta and gamma bands. Additionally, group FC patterns were not found for the alpha range. Furthermore, intra-subject analyses reinforced the existence of large inter-subject variability and the need for a careful exploration of individual pattern alterations. Such patterns also hinted at a dependency between short-term functional plasticity mechanisms and the EEG frequency bands. Although our sample size is small, we provide a longitudinal analysis framework that can be replicated in future studies, especially at the group level, and whose foundation can be easily extended to verify the validity of our hypotheses. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 16/22116-9 - Investigation of the neurofeedback technique using MRI
• Grantee: Carlos Alberto Stefano Filho
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 19/18409-9 - Physical therapy assisted with a robot for motor volitional control in children with cerebral palsy: neurophysiological correlates
• Grantee: Carlos Alberto Stefano Filho
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate