# Impact of neurofeedback training on thermal sensory imagery and perception

Théo Lefeuvre, Emile Savalle, Anatole Lécuyer, Marc J.-M. Macé, Léa Pillette

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Théo Lefeuvre, Emile Savalle, Anatole Lécuyer, Marc J.-M. Macé, Léa Pillette. Impact of neurofeed-back training on thermal sensory imagery and perception. CORTICO 2025 - 7e édition des Journées CORTICO (COllectif pour la Recherche Transdisciplinaire sur les Interfaces Cerveau-Ordinateur), May 2025, Lyon, France. pp.1-2, 2025. hal-05095984

HAL Id: hal-05095984

https://hal.science/hal-05095984v1

Submitted on 3 Jun 2025

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# Impact of neurofeedback training on thermal sensory imagery and perception

Théo Lefeuvre<fnref n="1" />, Emile Savalle<fnref n="1" />, Anatole Lécuyer<fnref n="2" />, Marc J-M Macé<fnref n="1" />, Léa Pillette<fnref n="1" />

Corresponding authors: theo.lefeuvre@inria.fr emile.savalle@inria.fr

Few studies have investigated the use of sensory imagery to send commands through a brain-computer interface despite promising results [1]. Most existing studies focus their instructions on tactile or vibratory sensations [2], while other modalities such as warmth or cold remain largely unexplored. Moreover, unlike motor abilities, the influence of neurofeedback on somatosensory capacities also remains unexplored even though they most likely impact and are impacted by neurofeedback [3].

Our preliminary experimental protocol aims to measure changes in brain activity during sensory imagery of warmth throughout neurofeedback training. Specifically, it seeks to address the following questions: (i) Can sensory imagery of warmth be used to control a brain-computer interface and be enhanced through neurofeedback training? (ii) Does the type of instruction significantly affect performance? (iii) Does the initial neural response to a warm stimulus predict neurofeedback performance and its potential ability to modulate the perception of warmth?

During the experiment, participants will be immersed in a virtual environment replicating their real surroundings. A haptic device equipped with a Peltier element will be attached to each participant's wrist to deliver controlled thermal stimulation (Fig. 1).

We plan to include 30 participants randomly divided into an experimental and a sham control group. Each participant will complete three conditions, each consisting of two runs of 20 trials, with instruction that is either visual, haptic, or visuohaptic. Depending on their group, it will be representative or not of the activity of their sensorimotor cortex. The ability of people to modulate the activity of their sensorimotor cortex without any neurofeedback will be assessed before and after the neurofeedback. We will also measure the neurophysiological's response to thermal stimuli at the beginning and the end of each condition.

Our results could provide insight into the impact of neurofeedback training on sensory imagery of warmth and sensory capacities.

<figure><img src="image_2.png" /><figcaption>Figure 1: Experimental setup. 1: HMD VR headset. 2: EEG headset. 3: Haptic thermal wristband.</figcaption></figure>

## References:

[1] L. Yao, N. Mrachacz-Kersting, X. Sheng, X. Zhu, D. Farina, and N. Jiang, “A multi-class bci based on somatosensory imagery,” *IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering*, vol. 26, no. 8, pp. 1508–1515, 2018.

<footnote n="1">¹Univ. Rennes, Inria, CNRS, IRISA, Rennes, France</footnote>

<footnote n="2">²Inria, Univ. Rennes, IRISA, CNRS – F35000 Rennes, France.</footnote>
[2] L. Yao, N. Jiang, N. Mrachacz-Kersting, X. Zhu, D. Farina, and Y. Wang, “Performance variation of a somatosensory bci based on imagined sensation: A large population study,” *IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering*, vol. 30, pp. 2486–2493, 2022.

[3] L. Pillette, F. Lotte, B. N'Kaoua, P.-A. Joseph, C. Jeunet, and B. Glize, “Why we should systematically assess, control and report somatosensory impairments in bci-based motor rehabilitation after stroke studies,” *NeuroImage: Clinical*, vol. 28, p. 102417, 2020.