| Title | Tailored robotic training improves hand function and proprioceptive processing in stroke survivors with proprioceptive deficits: A randomized controlled trial |
| Publication Type | Journal Article |
| Year of Publication | 2025 |
| Authors | Farrens, AJ, Garcia-Fernandez, L, Rojas, RDiaz, Estrada, JObeso, Reinsdorf, D, Chan, V, Gupta, D, Perry, J, Wolbrecht, E, Do, A, others, |
| Journal | arXiv preprint arXiv:2511.00259 |
| Abstract | Precision rehabilitation aims to tailor movement training to improve outcomes. We tested whether proprioceptively-tailored robotic training improves hand function and neural processing in stroke survivors. Using a robotic finger exoskeleton, we tested two proprioceptively-tailored approaches: Propriopixel Training, which uses robot-facilitated, gamified movements to enhance proprioceptive processing, and Virtual Assistance Training, which reduces robotic aid to increase reliance on self-generated feedback. In a randomized controlled trial, forty-six chronic stroke survivors completed nine 2-hour sessions of Standard, Propriopixel or Virtual training. Among participants with proprioceptive deficits, Propriopixel ((Box and Block Test: 7 +/- 4.2, p=0.002) and Virtual Assistance (4.5 +/- 4.4 , p=0.068) yielded greater gains in hand function (Standard: 0.8 +/- 2.3 blocks). Proprioceptive gains correlated with improvements in hand function. Tailored training enhanced neural sensitivity to proprioceptive cues, evidenced by a novel EEG biomarker, the proprioceptive Contingent Negative Variation. These findings support proprioceptively-tailored training as a pathway to precision neurorehabilitation. |
