Cerebral Correlates of Robot-Assisted Upper Limb Motion Driven by Motor Intention in Healthy Individuals: An fNIRS Study

The past few years have seen an exponential growth of the robot-assisted rehabilitation field and new technological developments allowing the integration of the user’s intention through detection of physiological information. The inclusion of motor intention is thought to be promising for...

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Main Authors: Margaux Noemie Lafitte, Christina Sylvia Andrea, Hideki Kadone, Eiichi Hoshino, Masashi Yamazaki, Yasuyo Minagawa, Kenji Suzuki
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11030730/
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author Margaux Noemie Lafitte
Christina Sylvia Andrea
Hideki Kadone
Eiichi Hoshino
Masashi Yamazaki
Yasuyo Minagawa
Kenji Suzuki
author_facet Margaux Noemie Lafitte
Christina Sylvia Andrea
Hideki Kadone
Eiichi Hoshino
Masashi Yamazaki
Yasuyo Minagawa
Kenji Suzuki
author_sort Margaux Noemie Lafitte
collection DOAJ
description The past few years have seen an exponential growth of the robot-assisted rehabilitation field and new technological developments allowing the integration of the user’s intention through detection of physiological information. The inclusion of motor intention is thought to be promising for motor rehabilitation and to facilitate neuroplasticity potentially by stimulating the cortical circuitry more than, or at least differently from, non-voluntary passive motion. Yet, contrasting results are reported in the literature. We aimed here to investigate the importance of the integration of motor intention on cortical activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) by comparing the active use of an assistive exoskeleton targeting the shoulder with passive use and unassisted motion. We recorded the activity of the bilateral frontal and parietal cortices of 20 healthy individuals during an arm raising task. Active robot assistance showed similar activity patterns to unassisted motion with the exception of a greater activation of the prefrontal region. Correlates of intention could be confirmed by an activation of the supplementary motor area in active-assisted and unassisted but not passive condition. Activation of the contralateral primary sensorimotor regions did not differ between passive and active conditions but activity of the ipsilateral hemisphere and secondary regions was reduced during passive motion. Our results provide arguments in favor of the integration of the user’s intention through physiological signals for rehabilitation, in favor of the investigation of secondary and ipsilateral regions, and in favor of the use of fNIRS to investigate differences in cortical correlates of passive and active motion.
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spelling doaj-art-34c72e2f571046aebad928f5222202e72025-08-20T02:07:46ZengIEEEIEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering1534-43201558-02102025-01-01332322233410.1109/TNSRE.2025.357879611030730Cerebral Correlates of Robot-Assisted Upper Limb Motion Driven by Motor Intention in Healthy Individuals: An fNIRS StudyMargaux Noemie Lafitte0https://orcid.org/0009-0009-9799-4729Christina Sylvia Andrea1Hideki Kadone2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2953-6434Eiichi Hoshino3Masashi Yamazaki4Yasuyo Minagawa5Kenji Suzuki6https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1736-5404Institute of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, JapanInstitute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, JapanInstitute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, JapanKeio University Global Research Institute, Tokyo, JapanDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, Institute of Medicine, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, JapanDepartment of Psychology, Faculty of Letters, Keio University, Yokohama, JapanCenter for Cybernics Research, Institute of Systems and Information Engineering, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, JapanThe past few years have seen an exponential growth of the robot-assisted rehabilitation field and new technological developments allowing the integration of the user’s intention through detection of physiological information. The inclusion of motor intention is thought to be promising for motor rehabilitation and to facilitate neuroplasticity potentially by stimulating the cortical circuitry more than, or at least differently from, non-voluntary passive motion. Yet, contrasting results are reported in the literature. We aimed here to investigate the importance of the integration of motor intention on cortical activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) by comparing the active use of an assistive exoskeleton targeting the shoulder with passive use and unassisted motion. We recorded the activity of the bilateral frontal and parietal cortices of 20 healthy individuals during an arm raising task. Active robot assistance showed similar activity patterns to unassisted motion with the exception of a greater activation of the prefrontal region. Correlates of intention could be confirmed by an activation of the supplementary motor area in active-assisted and unassisted but not passive condition. Activation of the contralateral primary sensorimotor regions did not differ between passive and active conditions but activity of the ipsilateral hemisphere and secondary regions was reduced during passive motion. Our results provide arguments in favor of the integration of the user’s intention through physiological signals for rehabilitation, in favor of the investigation of secondary and ipsilateral regions, and in favor of the use of fNIRS to investigate differences in cortical correlates of passive and active motion.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11030730/Cortical activityfunctional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)robot-assisted rehabilitationshoulder motionvoluntary intention
spellingShingle Margaux Noemie Lafitte
Christina Sylvia Andrea
Hideki Kadone
Eiichi Hoshino
Masashi Yamazaki
Yasuyo Minagawa
Kenji Suzuki
Cerebral Correlates of Robot-Assisted Upper Limb Motion Driven by Motor Intention in Healthy Individuals: An fNIRS Study
IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
Cortical activity
functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)
robot-assisted rehabilitation
shoulder motion
voluntary intention
title Cerebral Correlates of Robot-Assisted Upper Limb Motion Driven by Motor Intention in Healthy Individuals: An fNIRS Study
title_full Cerebral Correlates of Robot-Assisted Upper Limb Motion Driven by Motor Intention in Healthy Individuals: An fNIRS Study
title_fullStr Cerebral Correlates of Robot-Assisted Upper Limb Motion Driven by Motor Intention in Healthy Individuals: An fNIRS Study
title_full_unstemmed Cerebral Correlates of Robot-Assisted Upper Limb Motion Driven by Motor Intention in Healthy Individuals: An fNIRS Study
title_short Cerebral Correlates of Robot-Assisted Upper Limb Motion Driven by Motor Intention in Healthy Individuals: An fNIRS Study
title_sort cerebral correlates of robot assisted upper limb motion driven by motor intention in healthy individuals an fnirs study
topic Cortical activity
functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)
robot-assisted rehabilitation
shoulder motion
voluntary intention
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11030730/
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