A new study from ETH shows that training people to imagine moving individual fingers, while receiving feedback from brain stimulation, can reshape how the brain controls fingers. The findings highlight new opportunities for improving hand function after neurological injury.
Mental training of movements, or motor imagery, is increasingly used in rehabilitation when patients are unable to move. But how exactly the brain changes during such training has remained unclear. In a new study, researchers used a method called TMS-based neurofeedback (TMS-NF). Here, participants imagined moving a single finger while receiving visual feedback about their brain activity, helping them learn to “mentally separate” one finger from the others.
The results showed that this training helped participants activate finger-specific brain signals more clearly. In the motor cortex, the normal balance between activation and inhibition was fine-tuned: the imagined finger became easier to activate, while non-target fingers stayed suppressed. Brain scans also revealed that after training, the brain’s activity patterns for different fingers became more distinct, especially in areas involved in planning and controlling movement.
These findings suggest that TMS-NF can promote lasting changes in how the brain represents imagined fine finger movements, even without physical action. This could be valuable for patients recovering from stroke or spinal cord injury, who often struggle with hand control in the early stages of rehabilitation. The approach may also benefit brain-computer interfaces, which rely on distinct brain signals to work effectively.
By showing that the brain’s maps of imagined finger movements can be reshaped through mental training alone, this study provides a promising step toward new strategies for restoring fine motor skills.
Reference: Ingrid Angela Odermatt, Manuel Schulthess-Lutz, Ernest Mihelj, Paige Howell, Caroline Heimhofer, Roisin McMackin, Kathy Ruddy, Patrick Freund, Sanne Kikkert, Nicole Wenderoth. TMS-Based Neurofeedback Training of Mental Finger Individuation Induces Neuroplastic Changes in the Sensorimotor System. Journal of Neuroscience. 2025; 45 (35). https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2189-24.2025
Useful links:
- Video (How Magnetic Brain Stimulation Could Help Restore Hand Function After Stroke): https://youtu.be/21FQgnBqVb8
- Mental individuation of imagined finger movements can be achieved using TMS-based neurofeedback (2021): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118463
- Neural activity related to volitional regulation of cortical excitability (2018): https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.40843
- Upregulating excitability of corticospinal pathways in stroke patients using TMS neurofeedback; A pilot study (2020): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102465
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