Evaluating stroke rehabilitation using brain functional network and corticomuscular coupling

Objective: Stroke is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Traditionally, doctors assess stroke rehabilitation assessment, which can be subjective. Therefore, an objective assessment method is required.Methods: In this context, we investigated the changes in brain functional connectivity patterns and corticomuscular coupling in stroke patients during rehabilitation. In this study, electroencephalogram (EEG) and electromyogram (EMG) of stroke patients were collected synchronously at baseline(BL), two weeks after BL, and four weeks after BL. A brain functional network was established, and the corticomuscular coupling relationship was calculated using phase transfer entropy (PTE).Results: We found that during the rehabilitation of stroke patients, the overall connection of the brain functional network was strengthened, and the network characteristic value increased. The average corticomuscular PTE appeared to first decrease and subsequently increase, and the PTE increase in the frontal lobe was significant.Value: In this study, PTE was used for the first time to analyze the relationship between EEG signals in patients with hemiplegia. We believe that our findings contribute to evaluating the rehabilitation of stroke patients with hemiplegia.