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ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Neurophysiological markers of the illusion caused by the mirror visual feedback
1 Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Moscow, Russia
2 Russian Сenter of Neurology and Neurosciences, Moscow, Russia
3 Institute of Higher Nervous Activity and Neurophysiology of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
Correspondence should be addressed: Olesya A. Mokienko
Ostrovityanova, 1, stroenie 1, Moscow, 117997, Russia; ur.anhi@okneikom.o
Funding: the study was conducted under the State Assignment of the Ministry of Healthcare of the Russian Federation (No. 125022602910-2).
Acknowledgements: the authors express their gratitude to the study participants for their contribution to the scientific knowledge development.
Author contribution: Mokienko OA — research design, analysis of the results, manuscript writing; Bobrov PD — data analysis, manuscript writing; Soloveva AA — experimental procedure, analysis of the results; Isaev MR, Kerechanin YaV — data analysis; Ratnikova VYu, Kataitsev VA — experimental procedure; Shagina ED — research design, discussion; Nikishina VB — research conceptualization, discussion.
Compliance with ethical standards: the study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Institute of Clinical Psychology and Social Work, Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University (protocol No. 28 dated 23 October 2024). All subjects signed the informed consent to take part in the study.
Neurophysiological mechanisms underlying the illusion caused by the mirror visual feedback are still poorly understood, despite the clinical use of mirror therapy for phantom pain and post-stroke hemiparesis. The study aimed to determine the mirror illusion neurophysiological correlates by the simultaneous use of electroencephalography (EEG) recording and near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). A total of 30 healthy volunteers (12 males, 18 females; average age 24 ± 8 years) were assessed. The experimental procedure consisted of three blocks: bimanual movement without a mirror; moving one hand with the mirror; tactile stimulation with the mirror. We analyzed the degree of EEG alpha rhythm (8–13 Hz) desynchronization in primary sensorimotor areas, supplementary motor area, and the posterior parietal cortex. Furthermore, changes in the concentrations of oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin (HbO and HbR) were assessed by NIRS. When moving the hand with the mirror, bilateral activation of primary sensorimotor areas occurred in both hemispheres: mu rhythm desynchronization, 9.71 [2.82; 16.20]% in the contralateral and 5.64 [2.84; 12.13]% in the ipsilateral hemispheres (p = 0.797), along with the HbO concentration increase by 6.88 [3.07; 17.20] nmol/L in the contralateral and by 4.91 [0.11; 14.59] nmol/L in the ipsilateral hemispheres (p = 0.094). The correlations between EEG and NIRS parameters were reported for the posterior parietal cortex only (rs = 0.527, p = 0.003). The illusion subjective characteristics were correlated to the emotional response, and only some of those showed a weak correlation with neurophysiological indicators. EEG and NIRS are complementary, rather than mutually exclusive, when used to study the mirror illusion resulting from the multi-level network organization of brain processes.
Keywords: electroencephalography, mirror illusion, mirror visual feedback, near-infrared spectroscopy, cerebral cortex, neurophysiological markers