Exploring cortical activity of upper limb sensorimotor impairments and recovery after stroke. A systematic review

At six months post-stroke, 33-66% do not present with full recovery of upper limb function1. Identified predictors for poor upper limb sensorimotor recovery are increased stroke severity, more severe somatosensory and motor impairments and the presence of visuospatial neglect2. Somatosensory deficits are experienced by 21-54% of stroke survivors and negatively impact on upper limb use, reaching, grasping and dexterity. One of the methods of measuring cortical neurophysiological mechanisms of brain recovery in stroke is using electroencephalography (EEG). Disruption of neural connectivity can be measured by Event Related Desynchronisation (ERD) using EEG. Decrease in ERD of alpha and beta-bands oscillations of the affected sensorimotor areas compared to contralesional areas have been reported at rest and during movement of people with stroke with motor impairments 3,4. Currently, there is a gap in knowledge about the understanding of the recovery of underlying cortical activity of people with upper limb somatosensory and motor impairments during the different stages of stroke. Therefore, the aim of this review is to explore the current evidence about the changes of cortical activity measured by EEG in association with sensorimotor upper limb impairments in the acute, sub-acute and chronic stage after stroke. Electronic searches were conducted to identify the relevant studies. A total of 1607 unique papers were listed from all the databases. Results were independently reviewed by two reviewers and 617 papers were retained for further review after the eligibility assessment based on title. Abstract selection will be carried out during the next stage of the research which will be followed by full text review of the selected papers, risk of bias assessment and data collection and analysis. The final results of the review will be presented at the Symposium.status: publishe