The research at JNERL centers on biosignal engineering and neural imaging, with the goal of developing innovative approaches to advance neurorehabilitation and brain science.
Our first objective is to identify and quantitatively characterize pathological changes in the nervous system associated with sensorimotor impairments in neurological disorders. This work addresses an important clinical need for more precise diagnosis and provides the foundation for our second objective: developing targeted therapeutic strategies to reduce impairment and improve functional recovery. To achieve these goals, our interdisciplinary research combines computational neuroscience with human-subject experimentation and integrates multimodal brain imaging, noninvasive brain stimulation, electrophysiological signal analysis, and robotic technologies.
Targeted high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) can improve motor pathway function and upper limb recovery in individuals with chronic stroke. The findings highlight the potential of individualized stimulation protocols to optimize rehabilitation outcomes by modulating CST and CRST excitability.
Hypothesis:
Following a stroke, the somatosensory system adapts to motor changes through an adaptive hemispheric shift of somatosensory processing toward the contralesional sensorimotor areas. This shift facilitates compensatory ipsilateral motor control by engaging contralesional S1 and M1, compensating for disrupted contralateral motor control due to the stroke lesion.
Framework of proposed multi-model brain imaging approach combining high-density EEG and diffusion weighted MRI to track the dynamic neural signal propagation in the brain.
