Toward a hybrid-BCI approach for lower-limb rehabilitation: a complementary brain-muscle analysis during a dorsiflexion task

Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) enable real-time interaction between the central and peripheral nervous systems, supporting neuroplasticity in post-stroke rehabilitation. BCI systems can rely on brain features (event-related desynchronization/synchronization, ERD/S), or on hybrid brain-muscle features (cortico-muscular coherence, CMC) derived from EEG and EMG signals. While the validity of these features has been widely investigated for upper-limb BCIs, their complementary contribution in lower-limb motor tasks is not fully understood. In this context, the aim of this study is to investigate the complementary role of brain and brain-muscle features to discriminate Rest vs Foot dorsiflexion in healthy subjects, towards the design of a personalized hybrid-BCI for lower limb rehabilitation.