65 research outputs found
Decoding Finger Flexion from Band-Specific ECoG Signals in Humans
This article presents the method that won the brain-computer interface (BCI) competition IV addressed to the prediction of the finger flexion from electrocorticogram (ECoG) signals. ECoG-based BCIs have recently drawn the attention from the community. Indeed, ECoG can provide higher spatial resolution and better signal quality than classical EEG recordings. It is also more suitable for long-term use. These characteristics allow to decode precise brain activities and to realize efficient ECoG-based neuroprostheses. Signal processing is a very important task in BCIs research for translating brain signals into commands. Here, we present a linear regression method based on the amplitude modulation of band-specific ECoG including a short-term memory for individual finger flexion prediction. The effectiveness of the method was proven by achieving the highest value of correlation coefficient between the predicted and recorded finger flexion values on data set 4 during the BCI competition IV
Unsupervised decoding of long-term, naturalistic human neural recordings with automated video and audio annotations
Fully automated decoding of human activities and intentions from direct
neural recordings is a tantalizing challenge in brain-computer interfacing.
Most ongoing efforts have focused on training decoders on specific, stereotyped
tasks in laboratory settings. Implementing brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) in
natural settings requires adaptive strategies and scalable algorithms that
require minimal supervision. Here we propose an unsupervised approach to
decoding neural states from human brain recordings acquired in a naturalistic
context. We demonstrate our approach on continuous long-term
electrocorticographic (ECoG) data recorded over many days from the brain
surface of subjects in a hospital room, with simultaneous audio and video
recordings. We first discovered clusters in high-dimensional ECoG recordings
and then annotated coherent clusters using speech and movement labels extracted
automatically from audio and video recordings. To our knowledge, this
represents the first time techniques from computer vision and speech processing
have been used for natural ECoG decoding. Our results show that our
unsupervised approach can discover distinct behaviors from ECoG data, including
moving, speaking and resting. We verify the accuracy of our approach by
comparing to manual annotations. Projecting the discovered cluster centers back
onto the brain, this technique opens the door to automated functional brain
mapping in natural settings
Electromyogram (EMG) Removal by Adding Sources of EMG (ERASE) -- A novel ICA-based algorithm for removing myoelectric artifacts from EEG -- Part 2
Extraction of the movement-related high-gamma (80 - 160 Hz) in
electroencephalogram (EEG) from traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients who have
had hemicraniectomies, remains challenging due to a confounding bandwidth
overlap with surface electromyogram (EMG) artifacts related to facial and head
movements. In part 1, we described an augmented independent component analysis
(ICA) approach for removal of EMG artifacts from EEG, and referred to as EMG
Reduction by Adding Sources of EMG (ERASE). Here, we tested ERASE on EEG
recorded from six TBI patients with hemicraniectomies while they performed a
thumb flexion task. ERASE removed a mean of 52 +/- 12% (mean +/- S.E.M)
(maximum 73%) of EMG artifacts. In contrast, conventional ICA removed a mean of
27 +/- 19\% (mean +/- S.E.M) of EMG artifacts from EEG. In particular,
high-gamma synchronization was significantly improved in the contralateral hand
motor cortex area within the hemicraniectomy site after ERASE was applied. We
computed fractal dimension (FD) of EEG high-gamma on each channel. We found
relative FD of high-gamma over hemicraniectomy after applying ERASE were
strongly correlated to the amplitude of finger flexion force. Results showed
that significant correlation coefficients across the electrodes related to
thumb flexion averaged 0.76, while the coefficients across the homologous
electrodes in non-hemicraniectomy areas were nearly 0. Across all subjects, an
average of 83% of electrodes significantly correlated with force was located in
the hemicraniectomy areas after applying ERASE. After conventional ICA, only
19% of electrodes with significant correlations were located in the
hemicraniectomy. These results indicated that the new approach isolated
electrophysiological features during finger motor activation while selectively
removing confounding EMG artifacts
Decoding Neural Signals with Computational Models: A Systematic Review of Invasive BMI
There are significant milestones in modern human's civilization in which
mankind stepped into a different level of life with a new spectrum of
possibilities and comfort. From fire-lighting technology and wheeled wagons to
writing, electricity and the Internet, each one changed our lives dramatically.
In this paper, we take a deep look into the invasive Brain Machine Interface
(BMI), an ambitious and cutting-edge technology which has the potential to be
another important milestone in human civilization. Not only beneficial for
patients with severe medical conditions, the invasive BMI technology can
significantly impact different technologies and almost every aspect of human's
life. We review the biological and engineering concepts that underpin the
implementation of BMI applications. There are various essential techniques that
are necessary for making invasive BMI applications a reality. We review these
through providing an analysis of (i) possible applications of invasive BMI
technology, (ii) the methods and devices for detecting and decoding brain
signals, as well as (iii) possible options for stimulating signals into human's
brain. Finally, we discuss the challenges and opportunities of invasive BMI for
further development in the area.Comment: 51 pages, 14 figures, review articl
Review of the BCI Competition IV
The BCI competition IV stands in the tradition of prior BCI competitions that aim to provide high quality neuroscientific data for open access to the scientific community. As experienced already in prior competitions not only scientists from the narrow field of BCI compete, but scholars with a broad variety of backgrounds and nationalities. They include high specialists as well as students. The goals of all BCI competitions have always been to challenge with respect to novel paradigms and complex data. We report on the following challenges: (1) asynchronous data, (2) synthetic, (3) multi-class continuous data, (4) session-to-session transfer, (5) directionally modulated MEG, (6) finger movements recorded by ECoG. As after past competitions, our hope is that winning entries may enhance the analysis methods of future BCIs.BMBF, 01IB001A, LOKI - Lernen zur Organisation komplexer Systeme der Informationsverarbeitung - Lernen im Kontext der SzenenanalyseBMBF, 01GQ0850, Bernstein Fokus Neurotechnologie - Nichtinvasive Neurotechnologie für Mensch-Maschine InteraktionEC/FP7/224631/EU/Tools for Brain-Computer Interaction/TOBIEC/FP7/216886/EU/Pattern Analysis, Statistical Modelling and Computational Learning 2/PASCAL2BMBF, 01GQ0420, Verbundprojekt: Bernstein-Zentrum für Neural Dynamics, Freiburg - CNDFBMBF, 01GQ0761, Bewegungsassoziierte Aktivierung - Dekodierung bewegungsassoziierter GehirnsignaleBMBF, 01GQ0762, Bewegungsassoziierte Aktivierung - Gehirn- und Maschinenlerne
Doctor of Philosophy
dissertationThis dissertation describes the use of cortical surface potentials, recorded with dense grids of microelectrodes, for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). The work presented herein is an in-depth treatment of a broad and interdisciplinary topic, covering issues from electronics to electrodes, signals, and applications. Within the scope of this dissertation are several significant contributions. First, this work was the first to demonstrate that speech and arm movements could be decoded from surface local field potentials (LFPs) recorded in human subjects. Using surface LFPs recorded over face-motor cortex and Wernickes area, 150 trials comprising vocalized articulations of ten different words were classified on a trial-by-trial basis with 86% accuracy. Surface LFPs recorded over the hand and arm area of motor cortex were used to decode continuous hand movements, with correlation of 0.54 between the actual and predicted position over 70 seconds of movement. Second, this work is the first to make a detailed comparison of cortical field potentials recorded intracortically with microelectrodes and at the cortical surface with both micro- and macroelectrodes. Whereas coherence in macroelectrocorticography (ECoG) decayed to half its maximum at 5.1 mm separation in high frequencies, spatial constants of micro-ECoG signals were 530-700 ?m-much closer to the 110-160 ?m calculated for intracortical field potentials than to the macro-ECoG. These findings confirm that cortical surface potentials contain millimeter-scale dynamics. Moreover, these fine spatiotemporal features were important for the performance of speech and arm movement decoding. In addition to contributions in the areas of signals and applications, this dissertation includes a full characterization of the microelectrodes as well as collaborative work in which a custom, low-power microcontroller, with features optimized for biomedical implants, was taped out, fabricated in 65 nm CMOS technology, and tested. A new instruction was implemented in this microcontroller which reduced energy consumption when moving large amounts of data into memory by as much as 44%. This dissertation represents a comprehensive investigation of surface LFPs as an interfacing medium between man and machine. The nature of this work, in both the breadth of topics and depth of interdisciplinary effort, demonstrates an important and developing branch of engineering
Gesture Decoding Using ECoG Signals from Human Sensorimotor Cortex: A Pilot Study
Electrocorticography (ECoG) has been demonstrated as a promising neural signal source for developing brain-machine interfaces (BMIs). However, many concerns about the disadvantages brought by large craniotomy for implanting the ECoG grid limit the clinical translation of ECoG-based BMIs. In this study, we collected clinical ECoG signals from the sensorimotor cortex of three epileptic participants when they performed hand gestures. The ECoG power spectrum in hybrid frequency bands was extracted to build a synchronous real-time BMI system. High decoding accuracy of the three gestures was achieved in both offline analysis (85.7%, 84.5%, and 69.7%) and online tests (80% and 82%, tested on two participants only). We found that the decoding performance was maintained even with a subset of channels selected by a greedy algorithm. More importantly, these selected channels were mostly distributed along the central sulcus and clustered in the area of 3 interelectrode squares. Our findings of the reduced and clustered distribution of ECoG channels further supported the feasibility of clinically implementing the ECoG-based BMI system for the control of hand gestures
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