Modulation of Alpha Band Brain Connectivity during Motor Imagery via Bimanual Motor Training

Traditional post-stroke rehabilitation primarily targeted the affected side of the body. However, recent approaches emphasized the advantages of incorporating bimanual training into the rehabilitation process. In this study, the potential impacts of bimanual rotation training on neuroplasticity during motor imagery tasks, which included right-hand, left-hand, and both-hands tasks, were investigated with healthy participants. Neuroplasticity was assessed by analyzing brain effective connectivity using electroencephalography data in the alpha band, strongly associated with imagined movement, employing multivariate transfer entropy. The investigation covered node-wise, edge-wise, and network-wise analyses, offering a comprehensive exploration of potential neuroplastic alterations. Comparisons were made between the control session and the pre-training session, as well as between the pre-training and post-training sessions. The results demonstrated that bimanual rotation training improved interhemispheric interactions, characterized by increased node importance and the number of significant edges between bilateral motor regions, which could aid in the planning and execution of movements. However, the overall network structure did not change statistically significantly, and the effect of training was less pronounced in the left-hand task. These results suggest that bimanual rotation training can promote more effective connections between hemispheres, potentially enhancing motor function, and aiding in rehabilitation and the development of brain-computer interfaces.