Sensory Feedback and Hand Motor Adaptation

Impact of Altered Sensory Feedback on Adaptation of Hand Muscle Coordination of Stroke Survivors

The following experiment will be conducted with 15 chronic stroke survivors and 15 control subjects. Subjects will perform hand movements in the virtual reality environment using a head-mounted display. Quest's onboard cameras allow real-time tracking of hand motion, estimating joint angles of the finger and the thumb. For each feedback manipulation condition (i.e., movement amplification or reduction), the estimated joint angles will be multiplied by a factor greater than 1 (amplification) or a factor smaller than 1 (reduction). Then the newly-estimated hand posture will be displayed in the VR environment. Subjects will be randomly assigned into two groups (A and B), who will receive the assistance in a different order. Subjects will perform finger extension under three conditions: no sensory modulation, movement visual feedback (VF) amplification, and movement VF reduction (error augmentation), while their movement muscle activation patterns are recorded.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Stroke
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: Visual ROM augmentation; Device: Visual ROM reduction

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 30
• Phase: Early Phase 1

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Sang Wook Lee, PhD; Phone Number: 202-319-6218; Email: leesw@cua.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • District of Columbia
    • Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States, 20064
      • Recruiting
      • Catholic University of America
      • Contact: Sang Wook Lee, PhD; Phone Number: 312-608-8001; Email: leesw@cua.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria for stroke group:

• Age: 20 - 70 years old
• First-ever unilateral cortical stroke with resultant hemiparesis at least 6 months prior to the experimental testing
• Fugl-Meyer Upper Extremity Section 31 - 55

Exclusion Criteria for both groups:

• Presence of concurrent severe medical illness
• Pain in hand or arm with movements
• Loss of voluntary control of fingers and thumb
• Inability to provide informed consent
• Musculoskeletal injuries (e.g., fracture) or medical complications (e.g., severe cardiovascular disease).

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Basic Science
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Visual ROM augmentation followed by visual ROM reduction	Device: Visual ROM augmentation; Finger joint ROM is amplified.; Device: Visual ROM reduction; Visual feedback of finger joint ROM is reduced.
Experimental: Visual ROM reduction followed by visual ROM augmentation	Device: Visual ROM augmentation; Finger joint ROM is amplified.; Device: Visual ROM reduction; Visual feedback of finger joint ROM is reduced.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Joint range of motion (ROM)	range of motion of individual finger joints under each condition, measured by embedded cameras that digitize individual finger segments	Periprocedural

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Muscle activation	Activation level of hand muscles will be measured using surface EMG electrodes attached to the major hand muscles including extensor digitorum communis, flexor digitorum superficialis, and first dorsal interosseous.	Periprocedural

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: The Catholic University of America
• Collaborators: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD)

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 1, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 31, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 5, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 13, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): May 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): May 22, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 19, 2026
• Last Verified: May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Stroke; Hand; Visual feedback; Muscle coordination
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Cerebrovascular Disorders; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Vascular Diseases; Cardiovascular Diseases; Stroke
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00006785; 1R15HD114052 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: The investigators do not plan to share IPD but the de-identified data will be shared.

Drug and device information, study documents

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