Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42422218›Full record

Trial reportFrontiers in neurology

Closed-loop motor imagery brain-computer interface-assisted training for upper limb rehabilitation after subacute stroke: clinical and electroencephalographic outcomes from a randomized pilot trial.

Wenjie Jin, Xuekang Niu, Yanlin Liu, Zhiwen Zhu, Zhenzhen Gao, Shiyan Wang, Dianhuai Meng, Xinxin Zhu, Haochong Wang, Lingcong Wang and 2 more

Abstract readClinical Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in Frontiers in neurology. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Wenjie Jin *Rehabilitation Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Hangzhou, China.
Xuekang Niu *Rehabilitation Medicine Center, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China.
Yanlin Liu *Rehabilitation Medicine Center, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University Affiliated Jiaxing TCM Hospital, Jiaxing, China.
Zhiwen ZhuRehabilitation Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Hangzhou, China.
Zhenzhen GaoRehabilitation Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Hangzhou, China.
Shiyan WangRehabilitation Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Hangzhou, China.
Dianhuai MengRehabilitation Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Xinxin ZhuRehabilitation Medicine Center, Zhejiang Provincial General Hospital of Chinese People's Armed Police Forces, Hangzhou, China.
Haochong WangSchool of Life Science and Technology, Institute of Health and Rehabilitation Science, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China.
Lingcong WangRehabilitation Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Hangzhou, China.
Guangxu XuRehabilitation Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.
Yajun MaoRehabilitation Medicine Center, The First Affiliated Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Zhejiang Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine), Hangzhou, China.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Closed-loop motor imagery brain-computer interface (MI-BCI) training may support post-stroke upper-limb rehabilitation by coupling motor intention with contingent multisensory feedback. This randomized pilot trial examined its feasibility, safety, short-term clinical effects, and exploratory EEG correlates in patients with subacute stroke. Methods: In this single-center, assessor-blinded, two-arm pilot trial, 40 patients with first-ever subcortical stroke in the subacute phase were randomized 1:1 to a BCI group or an active control group after a 2-day motor imagery familiarization phase. Both groups received routine medical management, standardized conventional rehabilitation, and dose-matched motor imagery-based hand training for 4 weeks. The BCI group received EEG-contingent closed-loop MI-BCI-assisted training with a soft rehabilitation glove, whereas the control group received non-EEG-contingent glove-assisted motor imagery training under matched training duration, task instructions, device exposure, and multisensory feedback. The primary outcome was the Fugl-Meyer Assessment for the Upper Extremity (FMA-UE). Secondary outcomes included the Action Research Arm Test (ARAT) and Modified Barthel Index (MBI). Exploratory EEG outcomes included FFT%α and FFT%β during motor imagery. Clinical and EEG outcomes were analyzed using baseline-adjusted ANCOVA models, with week-4 values as dependent variables and corresponding baseline values as covariates. Results: All randomized participants completed the 4-week assessment. In baseline-adjusted ANCOVA models, the BCI group showed higher week-4 scores than the control group for FMA-UE (adjusted mean difference, 13.40 points; 95% CI, 10.71-16.08; Conclusion: Closed-loop MI-BCI-assisted training was feasible and well tolerated in selected patients with subacute stroke. The observed short-term improvements in upper-limb impairment and activity capacity provide preliminary signals of potential benefit beyond dose-matched non-EEG-contingent feedback training. Exploratory EEG findings suggest task-related modulation of alpha- and beta-band sensorimotor rhythmic activity, but should be interpreted as hypothesis-generating rather than confirmatory evidence of neural reorganization. Larger multicenter trials with longer follow-up, rigorous neurophysiological analyses, and real-world upper-limb use outcomes are needed. Clinical Trial Registration: ChiCTR2400083992. https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=229529.

Indexed as

brain-computer interfaceelectroencephalographymotor imagerystrokeupper limb rehabilitation

Identifiers

PMID42422218
PMCPMC13341537

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.