NeurEval

Quantitative examination of the efficacy of these neurophysiological pathways is, however, rarely carried out beyond the acute phase of neurological trauma. An original method for assessing the long-term impact of clinical interventions on stimulating the plasticity of neurophysiological pathways is to determine the level of coherence, i.e., the spectral correlation, between different electrophysiological signals, particularly between the activity of cortical structures and muscles involved in movement realization. Two types of coherence measurements can be distinguished : corticomuscular and intermuscular coherence measurements. Corticomuscular coherence corresponds to the spectral correlation between cortical and muscular activity, and reflects the physiological link between cortical neurons and motor neurons located in the spinal cord. Inter-muscular coherence corresponds to the spectral correlation between different muscular activities and reflects the neurophysiological command common to all muscles involved in a functional motor action. In the course of his thesis work, the candidate will determine the best indicator of the plasticity of neurophysiological pathways among the various measures of electrophysiological coherence, and will assess the consistency and reliability of this indicator in measuring the adaptations of neurophysiological pathways in healthy subjects and neurological patients. This work is therefore part of an approach to evaluating the management of the neurological patient in order to improve the effectiveness and reduce the societal cost of rehabilitation programs.