# Effect of Kinesio Taping on Hand Sensorimotor Control and Brain Activity
## 1 Introduction  
Kinesio taping is commonly used in sports and clinical settings [1] to deal with impaired proprioceptive sense and sensorimotor control due to injury, fatigue, or aging [2]. Previous studies have demonstrated that Kinesio taping can improve muscle strength, proprioception and performance [3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. However, there were some studies that failed to find significant improvements in sensorimotor control with Kinesio taping [10, 11]. In fact, a recent systemic review indicated that there is still a lack of compelling evidence for the effectiveness of Kinesio taping in sports performance [12].  
Sensorimotor control involves the integration of sensation and movement information in the central nervous system to enable proper proprioceptive senses, reaction time and force control during the execution of motor tasks [13]. Applying Kinesio tape on skin surface can stimulate cutaneous receptors. It has been reported that cutaneous mechanoreceptors provide the central nervous system with essential kinematic information of movement [14, 15], and disrupted cutaneous input had a negative impact on sensorimotor control [16].  
Kinesio tape can be applied at different tension levels clinically. Some studies conducted experiments with the natural tension of the tape, while other studies extendedthe length of the tape (hence increasing the tension of the tape) and then applied it onto the skin [9; 17; 18]. It has also been suggested that the activation of cutaneous receptors increases muscle spindle sensitivity and improves sensorimotor control [19], but recent evidence further indicates that cutaneous and proprioceptive inputs play different roles in sensorimotor integration [20]. It is still unclear how the level of tape tension influences sensory input to the central nervous system and the effectiveness of Kinesio taping on sensorimotor performance.  
Sensory afferent inputs can induce activities in the central nervous system. Through applying sensory-level electrical stimulation ([PERSON] et al., 2003) and vibration-induced tactile sensation ([PERSON] et al., 1997) to the finger, previous studies demonstrated that sensory afferent inputs induced immediate event-related dysynchronization (ERD) followed by event-related synchronization (ERS) in EEG alpha and beta bands in the contralateral sensorimotor cortex. In addition, electrical stimulation applied to the forearm enhanced EEG beta band ERD, as well as the functional connectivity between the sensorimotor cortex and the finger muscle (corticomuscular coherence, CMC) [21; 22]. CMC reflects the physiological status of the neuromuscular system [23; 24]. It has been demonstrated that motor training increases CMC [25] and lesions to the central nervous system decreases CMC [26; 27; 28]. Whether and how Kinesio taping applied to the limb influences the central nervous system and the functional connectivity between the sensorimotor cortex and muscles remains unclear.  
Here, we systemically examined how different tensions of Kinesio taping influences hand sensorimotor control, including joint and muscle force proprioceptive senses, reaction time, and changes in motor cortical activity and the functional connectivity between motor cortex and muscles. We hypothesized that Kinesio taping could improve sensorimotor control and influence brain activity. Moreover, additional tension could achieve greater improvements in sensorimotor control than neutral tension.