Implications of Hemispheric Shift of Sensory Feedback During Post-stroke Motor Control on Personalized Stroke Rehabilitation

Sensory feedback is crucial for motor control as it establishes the internal representation of motion. This study investigates changes in sensory feedback in hemiparetic stroke by analyzing the laterality index (LI) of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) during movements of the paretic arm, focusing on a shift from the lesioned to the contralesional hemisphere. Three chronic stroke participants performed isometric lifts of their paretic arms at two different levels of their maximum voluntary contraction while receiving tactile finger stimulation. We found that the hemispheric shift of somatosensory processing enhanced with higher level arm lifting on N100, which is the component related to sensory feedback. This result may provide a reference for the future development of personalized neuromuscular electrical stimulation therapy to include sensory components in motor rehabilitation post-stroke.