Impact of rTMS on BCI Control in Upper Limb Motor Rehabilitation of Patients With Chronic Stroke

Cerebrovascular accidents (strokes) are a major public health issue. Stroke is the 3rd leading cause of death and the leading cause of disability and loss of autonomy. In France, there are currently 130,000 new cases per year, and the aging of the population will lead to an increase in this number over the next few years. Among post-stroke impairments, motor deficit of the upper limb is the most common disability, affecting 73-88% of first-time stroke patients and 55-75% of chronic patients. Associated deficits can complicate rehabilitation management and affect recovery. The clinical profile of patients with motor deficits is therefore varied and complex, requiring an individualized approach. At present, only physiotherapy is recommended, with modest results. Repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation is a therapy that can improve motor recovery, but currently has a low level of evidence according to the HAS (French Hight Health Authority), notably because of variability in efficacy due to heterogeneity in the clinical profile of patients. Nevertheless, it is still recommended for the recovery of cognitive functions, but also for resistant depression, and could be used to stimulate motor imagery (MI). MI training also has the advantage of stimulating the motor network. Difficult to achieve for a number of patients, the use of rTMS could facilitate this cognitive task and, in particular, provide better access to brain-computer interfaces (BCI). Indeed, among the innovative rehabilitation therapies, BCIs have emerged as the most promising. By translating brain activity during a cognitive task into a command such as electrical muscle stimulation, BCIs would restore the damaged motor network and induce motor recovery. The main obstacle to their widespread use in clinical practice is their lack of reliability, as almost 30% of patients are unable to control them correctly, either because of difficulty in performing the MI task, or because of difficulty in identifying a