title: Laterality of brain activity during motor imagery is modulated by the provision of source level neurofeedback.
abstract: Motor imagery (MI) may be effective as an adjunct to physical practice for motor skill acquisition. For example, MI is emerging as an effective treatment in stroke neurorehabilitation. As in physical practice, the repetitive activation of neural pathways during MI can drive short- and long-term brain changes that underlie functional recovery. However, the lack of feedback about MI performance may be a factor limiting its effectiveness. The provision of feedback about MI-related brain activity may overcome this limitation by providing the opportunity for individuals to monitor their own performance of this endogenous process. We completed a controlled study to isolate neurofeedback as the factor driving changes in MI-related brain activity across repeated sessions. Eighteen healthy participants took part in 3 sessions comprised of both actual and imagined performance of a button press task. During MI, participants in the neurofeedback group received source level feedback based on activity from the left and right sensorimotor cortex obtained using magnetoencephalography. Participants in the control group received no neurofeedback. MI-related brain activity increased in the sensorimotor cortex contralateral to the imagined movement across sessions in the neurofeedback group, but not in controls. Task performance improved across sessions but did not differ between groups. Our results indicate that the provision of neurofeedback during MI allows healthy individuals to modulate regional brain activity. This finding has the potential to improve the effectiveness of MI as a tool in neurorehabilitation.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Brain Recovery and Function, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; School of Physiotherapy, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada. Electronic address: s.boe@dal.ca.
authors.forename: Shaun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Boe
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Brain Recovery and Function, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; School of Physiotherapy, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Electronic address: alicia.gionfriddo@dal.ca.
authors.forename: Alicia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gionfriddo
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Brain Recovery and Function, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada. Electronic address: sarah.kraeutner@dal.ca.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kraeutner
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax Nova Scotia, Canada. Electronic address: trea26@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Antoine
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tremblay
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Translational Imaging Centre (BIOTIC), IWK Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Electronic address: graham.little@iwk.nshealth.ca.
authors.forename: Graham
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Little
authors.affiliation: School of Physiotherapy, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada; Biomedical Translational Imaging Centre (BIOTIC), IWK Health Sciences Centre, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Electronic address: tim.bardouille@dal.ca.
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bardouille
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D058256:Brain Waves / Q000502:physiology; D004576:Electromyography; D005071:Evoked Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D059907:Functional Neuroimaging / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology*; D015225:Magnetoencephalography / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009048:Motor Skills / Q000502:physiology*; D058765:Neurofeedback / Q000502:physiology*; D011897:Random Allocation; D066191:Sensorimotor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Cortical oscillations; Functional neuroimaging; Imagery; Magnetoencephalography; Neurofeedback