Brain Rhythms in Altered Vision After Stroke (BRAVAS) (360G-Wellcome-209209_Z_17_Z)

Stroke affects 152,000 people in the UK each year, and up to 80% experience visual impairment as a result. Post-stroke disorders such as hemispatial neglect (a loss of visual attention to one side of space) are notoriously difficult to treat, and are associated with limited functional recovery and reduced quality of life. In healthy adults, visual processing is modulated by neural oscillations which help to promote or suppress incoming visual information. Specific oscillatory frequencies are known to be disrupted in stroke, yet at present it is unknown how these oscillations are related to hemispatial neglect. I aim to develop a new intervention for neglect via 3 interlinked and interdisciplinary clinical projects: 1) to identify, using electroencephalography (EEG), the oscillatory markers of a temporary, induced improvement in neglect during a phasic alerting protocol, 2) to identify longer-term oscillatory markers of improvement from neglect using magnetoencephalography (MEG) at 1-3 months vs 6-12 months post-stroke, and 3) to compare two targeted interventions to modulate pathological oscillatory activity, using a biofeedback protocol vs non-invasive brain stimulation. This translational programme will bring together knowledge and expertise from cognitive neuroscience and clinical stroke rehabilitation to develop a novel intervention to treat visual impairment after stroke.