Interaction of BCI with the underlying neurological conditions in patients: pros and cons

Frontiers in Neuroengineering, 2014 · DOI: 10.3389/fneng.2014.00042 · Published: November 18, 2014

Simple Explanation

Clinical Brain Computer Interface (BCI) systems are primarily designed to assist patients in communicating with their surroundings or to support their recovery. A key challenge in clinical BCI applications is that patients often have neurological deficits, which can significantly alter their brainwave patterns compared to healthy individuals. This special issue examines how BCI systems interact with underlying neurological problems and how the performance of these systems varies compared to those tested on healthy individuals.

Study Duration

Not specified

Participants

Five different patient groups: stroke, spinal cord injury (SCI), autism, cerebral palsy (CP) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)

Evidence Level

Level 5: Expert Opinion

Key Findings

1
BCI-HK group achieved signiﬁcantly larger motor gain than the other two groups, when compared to hand and arm rehabilitation therapies, BCI with a haptic knob (HK) robot, HK alone or a standard physiotherapy.
2
BCI training with somatosensory feedback provided improved motor function in chronic stroke patients, demonstrating that cortical changes do not always indicate functional recovery.
3
Paraplegic patients, regardless of pain presence, showed significantly larger movement-related cortical potentials (MRCP) compared to able-bodied individuals, suggesting MRCP might be a better feature for motor imagery-based BCI in this group than ERD.

Research Summary

This special issue highlights the interaction of BCI systems with underlying neurological problems, showcasing how their performance differs from systems tested on healthy individuals. The collection includes reviews and experimental studies covering various patient groups, BCI types, and applications, from rehabilitation to basic research on cortical activity and EEG signatures. The findings suggest that rehabilitation is the most promising immediate benefit for BCI users, but further development is needed for BCIs to adequately replace existing communication and control technologies.

Practical Implications

Tailored BCI Protocols

Develop BCI protocols specifically designed for different neurological conditions to improve performance and effectiveness.

Home-Based Rehabilitation

Focus on making BCI systems more user-friendly, affordable, and aesthetically pleasing to facilitate prolonged, home-based rehabilitation.

Somatosensory Feedback

Integrate somatosensory feedback in BCI training for stroke patients to enhance motor function recovery.

Study Limitations

1
Lack of systematic analysis on how different neurological problems affect BCI performance.
2
Requirements of ALS patients haven’t been met yet.
3
BCI therapy might produce both adaptive and maladaptive changes.

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