Corticomuscular coupling study for post-stroke rehabilitation: a scoping review

The challenge of post-stroke rehabilitation lies in the difficulty of quantifying the dynamic process of neural remodeling using traditional assessment methods. Corticomuscular coupling (CMC), as an emerging neurophysiological index, offers a novel perspective for quantifying this dynamic process of neural remodeling following a stroke and optimizing rehabilitation interventions. This paper systematically reviews the research advancements in CMC within stroke rehabilitation through a scoping review, focusing on four primary areas: mechanisms, analytical methods, experimental paradigms, and interventions. Studies indicate that CMC can assess the neural mechanisms underlying motor dysfunction and guide personalized rehabilitation strategies by analyzing the dynamic information transfer between the brain and muscles. However, current studies encounter challenges such as technical calibration difficulties, insufficient sample sizes, and the heterogeneity of experimental paradigms. Moving forward, it is essential to promote large-sample multicenter studies, standardize the analytical processes, and explore the synergistic application of CMC with brain-computer interfaces and other technologies to facilitate the paradigm shift from experience-driven to data-driven stroke rehabilitation.