Year: 2020
Type: article
Abstract: OBJECTIVE: A major challenge for controlling a prosthetic arm is communication between the device and the user's phantom limb. We show the ability to enhance phantom limb perception and improve movement decoding through targeted transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in individuals with an arm amputation. APPROACH: Transcutaneous nerve stimulation experiments were performed with four participants with arm amputation to map phantom limb perception. We measured myoelectric signals during phantom hand movements before and after participants received sensory stimulation. Using electroencephalogram (EEG) monitoring, we measured the neural activity in sensorimotor regions during phantom movements and stimulation. In one participant, we also tracked sensory mapping over 2 years and movement decoding performance over 1 year. MAIN RESULTS: Results show improvements in the participants' ability to perceive and move the phantom hand as a result of sensory stimulation, which leads to improved movement decoding. In the extended study with one participant, we found that sensory mapping remains stable over 2 years. Sensory stimulation improves within-day movement decoding while performance remains stable over 1 year. From the EEG, we observed cortical correlates of sensorimotor integration and increased motor-related neural activity as a result of enhanced phantom limb perception. SIGNIFICANCE: This work demonstrates that phantom limb perception influences prosthesis control and can benefit from targeted nerve stimulation. These findings have implications for improving prosthesis usability and function due to a heightened sense of the phantom hand.
Source: Journal of Neural Engineering
Institutions: Johns Hopkins University, Johns Hopkins Medicine, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, National University of Singapore, University of Pittsburgh, University of Houston, Technical University of Munich, Semmelweis University, Infinite Biomedical Technologies (United States), University of Patras
Language: English
Subfield: Cognitive Neuroscience
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
Funders: National Science Foundation, Johns Hopkins University, National Institutes of Health, Advanced Research Projects Agency, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering
OpenAlex ID: W3092840046