Frontalis EMG Biofeedback-Assisted Relaxation Training in Cerebral Palsy: Two Case Studies

Abstract

<p> The effectiveness of auditory frontalis EMG feedback as a means of teaching general relaxation to spastic and athetoid cerebral palsy individuals was investigated in a pilot study. It was hypothesized that an increase in voluntary ability to reduce levels of muscle activity would translate into improved functional skills and act as an effective coping response in dealing with stress and anxiety.</p> <p> Two subjects - one athetoid (female; 16 years old) and the other spastic (male; 19 years old were studied in depth, each through the use of an A-B-A single-subject design, where the B phase consisted of ten 15-minute sessions of auditory feedback of the frontalis muscle. Generalization of relaxation was assessed by monitoring forearm flexor and extensor muscle activity, peripheral skin temperature, and respiration rate. A Tektronix 4051 desktop computer was utilized to facilitate data management. In addition to the physiological measures, functional evaluations were conducted prior to and after training and a questionnaire was answered by the subject's relatives. Although there was no clear tendency for either subject to reduce absolute levels of EMG, one subject demonstrated a striking reduction in variability of muscle activity across sessions. Functional assessments for these subjects indicated mild to moderate improvements.</p>