fNIRS-based adaptive visuomotor task improves sensorimotor cortical activation

Objective. Investigating how to promote the functional activation of the central sensorimotor system is an important goal in the neurorehabilitation research domain. We aim to validate the effectiveness of facilitating cortical excitability using a closed-loop visuomotor task, in which the task difficulty is adaptively adjusted based on an individual’s sensorimotor cortical activation. Approach. We developed a novel visuomotor task, in which subjects moved a handle of a haptic device along a specific path while exerting a constant force against a virtual surface under visual feedback. The difficulty levels of the task were adapted with the aim of increasing the activation of sensorimotor areas, measured non-invasively by functional near-infrared spectroscopy. The changes in brain activation of the bilateral prefrontal cortex, sensorimotor cortex, and the occipital cortex obtained during the adaptive visuomotor task (adaptive group), were compared to the brain activation pattern elicited by the same duration of task with random difficulties in a control group. Main results. During one intervention session, the adaptive group showed significantly increased activation in the bilateral sensorimotor cortex, also enhanced effective connectivity between the prefrontal and sensorimotor areas compared to the control group. Significance. Our findings demonstrated that the functional near-infrared spectroscopy-based adaptive visuomotor task with high ecological validity can facilitate the neural activity in sensorimotor areas and thus has the potential to improve hand motor functions.