Perception of Electrical Stimuli in Individuals With Stroke

Perception of Electrical Stimuli During Muscle Activation in Individuals With Stroke

To successfully manipulate objects in one's surroundings, such as when lifting a cup, one must accurately perceive their physical interactions. This includes accurately interpreting the tactile cues arising at one's fingertips when touching an object. Currently, tactile perception is assessed in individuals with stroke using passive protocols. Research has yet to explore whether activating one's muscles impacts the tactile perceptual process in individuals with stroke despite previous research demonstrating the effect of muscle activation on tactile perception in individuals who are neurologically intact. The proposed research will be the first to address the impact of muscle activation, in addition to stroke, on tactile perception. As such, the proposed research is significant for advancing our understanding of the extent to which tactile deficits occur in individuals with stroke, particularly during volitional movement.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Stroke
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Torque Generation

Detailed Description

Participants will detect an externally-applied electrical stimulus at their fingertip with the elbow: 1) relaxed and flexed to 2) 25% and 3) 50% of their maximum voluntary torque (MVT). We will compare the detection threshold for these three conditions between each arm of participants with stroke and similarly-aged controls. Based on pilot data, we hypothesize that the detection threshold will be largest at the paretic arm when flexing to 50% MVT due to the greatest inhibition of sensory signals. Findings will indicate whether stroke negatively impacts an individual's ability to detect tactile stimuli during volitional sensorimotor tasks.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 45
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Virginia
    • Blacksburg, Virginia, United States, 24061
      • Virginia Tech Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• For the participants with stroke, i) a single unilateral cortical lesion that took place at least one year prior and ii) an absence of comorbid neurological impairments
• Ability to understand and complete the experimental tasks
• Capacity to provide informed consent
• At least 18 years of age

Exclusion Criteria:

• Major injury to either arm
• Sensory neuropathy

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)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Detection threshold	Minimum magnitude of current at which an electrical stimulus can be detected	~5 minutes

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Netta Gurari
• Collaborators: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD); Northwestern University; Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Chapman, C. E., Zompa, I. C., Williams, S. R., Shenasa, J. & Jiang, W. Factors influencing the perception of tactile stimuli during movement. in Somesthesis and the Neurobiology of the Somatosensory Cortex (eds. Franzén, O., Johansson, R. & Terenius, L.) 307-320 (Birkhäuser Basel, 1996).
• Pavlenko, V. B. Self-initiated motor behavioral act-related neuronal activity in the cat Locus Coeruleus. Neurophysiology 35, 29-37 (2003).
• Wei K, Glaser JI, Deng L, Thompson CK, Stevenson IH, Wang Q, Hornby TG, Heckman CJ, Kording KP. Serotonin affects movement gain control in the spinal cord. J Neurosci. 2014 Sep 17;34(38):12690-700. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1855-14.2014.
• Seki K, Fetz EE. Gating of sensory input at spinal and cortical levels during preparation and execution of voluntary movement. J Neurosci. 2012 Jan 18;32(3):890-902. doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.4958-11.2012.
• Post LJ, Zompa IC, Chapman CE. Perception of vibrotactile stimuli during motor activity in human subjects. Exp Brain Res. 1994;100(1):107-20. doi: 10.1007/BF00227283.
• Seki K, Perlmutter SI, Fetz EE. Sensory input to primate spinal cord is presynaptically inhibited during voluntary movement. Nat Neurosci. 2003 Dec;6(12):1309-16. doi: 10.1038/nn1154. Epub 2003 Nov 16.
• Jacobs BL, Martin-Cora FJ, Fornal CA. Activity of medullary serotonergic neurons in freely moving animals. Brain Res Brain Res Rev. 2002 Oct;40(1-3):45-52. doi: 10.1016/s0165-0173(02)00187-x.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 1, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 15, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 15, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): July 19, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 13, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 6, 2026
• Last Verified: April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: muscle activation; tactile perception; somatosensation
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cerebrovascular Disorders; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Stroke
• Other Study ID Numbers: K25HD096116 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No