Project
Effects of external frequency entrainment on bimanual network function and connectivity in healthy conditions and during recovery from stroke.
Nearly every activity of daily life requires the integrated movements of both hands. How smooth this interaction is actually being controlled becomes only obvious when the system is challenged, as for example in the case of higher task demand or when interregional neural communication is hampered following a lesion. A local lesion following a stroke might eventually lead to complex disturbance and subsequent remodelling of brain structure and transmission of neural signals between brain regions and this is potentially linked to the quality of behavioural outcome including motor performance. Therefore, the overall objectives of this project are to define the spatio-temporal neural network architecture controlling bimanual interaction in the healthy sensorimotor system and in stroke patients by means of high-density electroencephalography (hd-EEG) in combination with advanced techniques of white-matter imaging. In a second step, transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) will be used to probe interregional information processing in the sensorimotor system and its effects on bimanual interaction in a group of healthy participants and a group of patients recovering from stroke. The results of this work will advance the current understanding about how the brain achieves the control of dexterous bimanual interaction and may pave the way for future evaluation of the therapeutic potential of tACS in the rehabilitation of impairment following stroke.