Corticomuscular coherence brain-computer interface to treat chronic neck pain

Chronic neck pain (CNP) is a debilitating condition that decreases quality of life and has been cited as one of the globally leading causes of disability. CNP is persistent pain and heightened sensitivity of the neck lasting longer than three months without a preceding traumatic injury. Aging is associated with an increased prevalence and severity of CNP. Treatment options are limited and have moderate success.u

In CNP, abnormal changes to the size and function of the brain area controlling the muscles of the neck are associated with pain symptoms. Treatment interventions aimed at restoring the brain area which controls the neck muscles may improve symptoms. We have developed a brain-computer interface that simultaneously records brain and muscle signals using a technique called corticomuscular coherence (CMC). Our pilot work indicates that participants can improve their CMC when provided with feedback. As the signal relates to communication between the brain and muscle, increasing the CMC value can improve synchronization between cortex and muscle.

The goal of this study is to determine if individuals with CNP can improve their pain symptoms through improving CMC. Forty individuals with CNP aged 45 years and older will participate in one of two equally sized groups. Both groups will participate in a proprioceptive head rotation task 3-5 days per week for 4 weeks. One group will experience the CMC feedback during the task and the other group will not. We will evaluate the effectiveness of the novel CMC-BCI using assessments of pain rating, activities of daily living and quality of life before and at 1 day and 1 month following the proprioceptive head rotation task. We hypothesize that pain symptoms will improve in both groups with greater change in the group receiving CMC feedback. This translational research is positioned to make significant advances in CNP treatment.