Restoring of Interhemispheric Symmetry in Patients With Stroke Following Bilateral or Unilateral Robot-Assisted Upper-Limb Rehabilitation: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Bilateral robotic rehabilitation has proven helpful in the recovery of upper limb motor function in patients with stroke, but its effects on the cortical reorganization mechanisms underlying recovery are still unclear. This pilot Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT) aimed to evaluate the effects on the interhemispheric balance of unilateral or bilateral robotic treatments in patients with subacute stroke, using Quantitative Electroencephalography (qEEG). 19 patients with ischemic stroke underwent a 30-session upper limb neurorehabilitation intervention using a bilateral upper limb exoskeleton. Each patient was randomly assigned to the bilateral (BG, n=10) or unilateral treatment group (UG, n=9). EEG evaluations were performed before (T0) and right after (T0+) the first treatment session, after 30 treatment sessions (T1), and at 1-week follow-up (T2), in both eyes open and eyes closed conditions. From the acquired EEG data, the pairwise-derived Brain Symmetry Index (pdBSI) was computed. In addition, clinical evaluation was performed at T0 and T1 with validated clinical scales. After the treatment, a significant improvement in clinical and EEG evaluations was observed for both groups, but only the BG showed reduced pdBSI in delta and theta bands. In the cluster of sensorimotor channels, there was no significant difference between groups. The observed changes were not maintained at follow-up. No significant changes were observed in the pdBSI after a single rehabilitation session. Results suggest that balancing of interhemispheric symmetry comes along with a clinical improvement in the upper extremity and that the pdBSI can be used to investigate the mechanisms of neuronal plasticity involved in robotic rehabilitation after stroke.