Sensorimotor Imaging for Brain-Computer Interfaces

Mapping of Motor and Sensory Brain Activity Using fMRI

The investigators will use fMRI to map movement activity in motor and somatosensory cortex using enriched imagery in people with chronic tetraplegia. The investigators expect that somatotopic organization of movement activity will be preserved in people with upper limb impairments, which can be quantified using the strength, area, and location of sensorimotor activity. Accurate mapping of the motor and somatosensory cortices using covert stimuli will help guide brain-computer interface (BCI) electrode design and placement. Moreover, these advanced mapping procedures will provide new insights into the functional interactions between sensory and motor areas of the brain after injury or disease.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Functional Neuroimaging
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Motor or sensory imagery

Detailed Description

BACKGROUND: Advanced understanding of brain structure and function has improved the diagnosis and treatment of neurological disorders such as epilepsy, stroke, and spinal cord injury (SCI). Over half a century ago, the pioneering studies of Penfield used electrical stimulation of motor and sensory areas of cerebral cortex and revealed a distinct somatotopic organization of the brain. Today, this and additional knowledge of neuronal coding functions are being used to develop revolutionary devices that interface directly with motor and sensory neurons in the brain to establish functional connections with prosthetic and assistive devices. These so-called brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) require electrodes to be placed precisely in brain areas responsible for volitional control and sensation of limb movements, particularly the arm and hand regions. Mapping those brain regions is possible using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). However, such mapping studies are difficult to perform in persons with motor and sensory impairments. People with ALS and SCI have disrupted efferent and afferent pathways between the cortex and the limbs making it necessary to rely on covert techniques, such as kinesthetic motor imagery, to map sensorimotor brain activity in order to guide BCI electrode placement or to study cortical plasticity resulting from injury or intervention. Challenges associated with brain mapping after injury likely contribute to the widely varying reports regarding the extent and prevalence of functional reorganization occurring in the brain following SCI. fMRI is a non-invasive tool that allows for measurement of motor and sensory-related brain activity with minimal risk to study participants.

SIGNIFICANCE: Restoration of upper limb function is a top priority for individuals with tetraplegia. It is estimated that 236,000-327,000 people in the United States have a spinal cord injury. Approximately 17% of people with SCI have high tetraplegia (injury at cervical levels C1-C4) although this percentage has been increasing in recent years. People with high tetraplegia are the most likely group to benefit from BCI-controlled neuroprosthetics, although the covert mapping strategies developed in this proposal could be used to study sensorimotor activation and plasticity in anyone with motor or sensory impairment including amputation. Sophisticated, motorized prostheses are being developed that enable natural upper limb movement and have advanced sensing capabilities. People with tetraplegia would like to restore function to their own limbs using FES, but this technology needs further advancement and does not replace sensation, which may still require a BCI. While FES research and development continues, people with tetraplegia could take advantage of motorized prostheses by mounting them to their wheelchair. Motorized prostheses can provide function comparable to that of an intact limb, but a high degree-of-freedom control interface is needed and BCI is one possible solution.

Functional neuroimaging can be used to guide BCI electrode placement in order to tap into existing sensorimotor circuits. Imagery-based brain mapping also enables the study of cortical plasticity which could be useful for understanding maladaptive cortical changes that occur after injury or beneficial changes resulting from rehabilitation interventions. Just as pre-surgical brain mapping may help identify individuals who are best suited for a BCI, covert brain mapping in someone with motor and sensory impairments may inform the type of rehabilitation paradigm that is most likely to have a benefit. The potential benefit of being able to study cortical plasticity in the absence of movement or sensation is wide-reaching as it could be applied to patients with SCI, amputation, stroke, neurodegenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or other sensorimotor impairment.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 15
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Debbie Harrington; Phone Number: 412-383-1355; Email: debbie.harrington@pitt.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
      • Recruiting
      • University of Pittsburgh
      • Contact: Debbie Harrington; Phone Number: 412-383-1355; Email: debbie.harrington@pitt.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 18 or older
2. Normal or corrected to normal vision
3. Impairment of at least one arm/hand as a result of cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The ALS diagnosis should be possible, probable, or definite ALS based on El Escorial criteria.
4. Decreased or absent sensation or impaired hand movement
5. Score of <10 on the Short Blessed Test cognitive assessment

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Pacemaker, baclofen pump, cochlear implant or other electronic implanted device
2. Metallic implant that is unsafe for 3T MRI
3. Pregnant females
4. Individuals who weigh over 300 pounds (because of MRI risks/space)
5. Individuals who have difficulty breathing when laying down (orthopnea)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: fMRI w/ motor or sensory imagery; Individuals will be asked to imagine movements or sensations while fMRI is used to measure brain activity.	Other: Motor or sensory imagery; Brain activity will be measured using fMRI while participants imagine different movements or sensations in order to assess the organization of sensorimotor cortical activity after injury

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Peak activity	Peak activity strength in sensorimotor cortex for different movements or sensations	up to 4 hours
Location of peak activity	Location of peak activity in sensorimotor cortex for different movements or sensations	up to 4 hours
Area of peak activity	Area of primary activation within sensorimotor cortex for different movements or sensations	up to 4 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh
• Collaborators: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS); University of Pittsburgh Medical Center; Carnegie Mellon University; Synchron Medical, Inc.
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jennifer L Collinger, PhD, University of Pittsburgh

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 8, 2019
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: January 7, 2021
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 20, 2021
• First Posted (Actual): January 26, 2021

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): January 8, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: January 4, 2024
• Last Verified: January 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: ALS; tetraplegia; amyotropic lateral sclerosis
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY19060314; 1UG3NS120191-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: We may share coded imaging data with other researchers.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: The ICF will be available prior to study completion.
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No