Effects of intermittent theta burst stimulation on upper limb motor recovery in early stroke patients: an fNIRS study

ObjectiveTo explore the recovery of upper limb motor function and the changes in cortical functional connectivity in patients with early subcortical small infarcts accompanied by severe upper limb motor dysfunction (PESSUM) after intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) via functional near-infrar...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Menghui Liu, Chunxiao Wan, Chunyan Wang, Xinyi Li
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-02-01
Series:Frontiers in Neurology
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1542827/full
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1849717114273792000
author Menghui Liu
Chunxiao Wan
Chunyan Wang
Xinyi Li
author_facet Menghui Liu
Chunxiao Wan
Chunyan Wang
Xinyi Li
author_sort Menghui Liu
collection DOAJ
description ObjectiveTo explore the recovery of upper limb motor function and the changes in cortical functional connectivity in patients with early subcortical small infarcts accompanied by severe upper limb motor dysfunction (PESSUM) after intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and to explore the related mechanisms.MethodsWe enrolled 56 subcortical ischemic stroke patients with FMA-UE ≤28 and randomly assigned them to receive either genuine (TG, n = 29) or sham (CG, n = 23) iTBS plus standard rehabilitation over 8 days. fNIRS was used to monitor cerebral HbO, HbD, and HbT concentrations, and RSFC changes were analyzed. The FMA-UE and MBI scores were used to evaluate upper limb motor function and daily activities. Intergroup comparisons were conducted using independent samples t tests, whereas intragroup comparisons were performed using paired samples t tests or Mann–Whitney U tests. The trend of the RSFC changes was analyzed via repeated-measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).ResultsBoth groups showed significant improvements in FMA-UE and MBI scores postintervention (p < 0.001). The TG had higher MBI scores than the CG (p = 0.005). fNIRS revealed accelerated cyclical changes in cortical activity in the TG.ConclusioniTBS significantly improved motor function and daily living ability in stroke patients, supporting a role for iTBS in promoting neural repair by accelerating cortical recovery cycles. This study provides evidence that iTBS is an effective rehabilitation strategy poststroke.Clinical trial registrationhttps://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=169674, ChiCTR2200060955.
format Article
id doaj-art-e5ff4da70345403098df2ab6c98f06ac
institution DOAJ
issn 1664-2295
language English
publishDate 2025-02-01
publisher Frontiers Media S.A.
record_format Article
series Frontiers in Neurology
spelling doaj-art-e5ff4da70345403098df2ab6c98f06ac2025-08-20T03:12:46ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Neurology1664-22952025-02-011610.3389/fneur.2025.15428271542827Effects of intermittent theta burst stimulation on upper limb motor recovery in early stroke patients: an fNIRS studyMenghui LiuChunxiao WanChunyan WangXinyi LiObjectiveTo explore the recovery of upper limb motor function and the changes in cortical functional connectivity in patients with early subcortical small infarcts accompanied by severe upper limb motor dysfunction (PESSUM) after intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and to explore the related mechanisms.MethodsWe enrolled 56 subcortical ischemic stroke patients with FMA-UE ≤28 and randomly assigned them to receive either genuine (TG, n = 29) or sham (CG, n = 23) iTBS plus standard rehabilitation over 8 days. fNIRS was used to monitor cerebral HbO, HbD, and HbT concentrations, and RSFC changes were analyzed. The FMA-UE and MBI scores were used to evaluate upper limb motor function and daily activities. Intergroup comparisons were conducted using independent samples t tests, whereas intragroup comparisons were performed using paired samples t tests or Mann–Whitney U tests. The trend of the RSFC changes was analyzed via repeated-measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA).ResultsBoth groups showed significant improvements in FMA-UE and MBI scores postintervention (p < 0.001). The TG had higher MBI scores than the CG (p = 0.005). fNIRS revealed accelerated cyclical changes in cortical activity in the TG.ConclusioniTBS significantly improved motor function and daily living ability in stroke patients, supporting a role for iTBS in promoting neural repair by accelerating cortical recovery cycles. This study provides evidence that iTBS is an effective rehabilitation strategy poststroke.Clinical trial registrationhttps://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=169674, ChiCTR2200060955.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1542827/fullfNIRSstrokeresting-stateiTBSTMS
spellingShingle Menghui Liu
Chunxiao Wan
Chunyan Wang
Xinyi Li
Effects of intermittent theta burst stimulation on upper limb motor recovery in early stroke patients: an fNIRS study
Frontiers in Neurology
fNIRS
stroke
resting-state
iTBS
TMS
title Effects of intermittent theta burst stimulation on upper limb motor recovery in early stroke patients: an fNIRS study
title_full Effects of intermittent theta burst stimulation on upper limb motor recovery in early stroke patients: an fNIRS study
title_fullStr Effects of intermittent theta burst stimulation on upper limb motor recovery in early stroke patients: an fNIRS study
title_full_unstemmed Effects of intermittent theta burst stimulation on upper limb motor recovery in early stroke patients: an fNIRS study
title_short Effects of intermittent theta burst stimulation on upper limb motor recovery in early stroke patients: an fNIRS study
title_sort effects of intermittent theta burst stimulation on upper limb motor recovery in early stroke patients an fnirs study
topic fNIRS
stroke
resting-state
iTBS
TMS
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fneur.2025.1542827/full
work_keys_str_mv AT menghuiliu effectsofintermittentthetaburststimulationonupperlimbmotorrecoveryinearlystrokepatientsanfnirsstudy
AT chunxiaowan effectsofintermittentthetaburststimulationonupperlimbmotorrecoveryinearlystrokepatientsanfnirsstudy
AT chunyanwang effectsofintermittentthetaburststimulationonupperlimbmotorrecoveryinearlystrokepatientsanfnirsstudy
AT xinyili effectsofintermittentthetaburststimulationonupperlimbmotorrecoveryinearlystrokepatientsanfnirsstudy