EEG correlates of P300-based brain-computer interface (BCI) performance in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

J Neural Eng. 2012 Apr;9(2):026014. doi: 10.1088/1741-2560/9/2/026014. Epub 2012 Feb 21.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify electroencephalography (EEG) features that correlate with P300-based brain-computer interface (P300 BCI) performance in people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Twenty people with ALS used a P300 BCI spelling application in copy-spelling mode. Three types of EEG features were found to be good predictors of P300 BCI performance: (1) the root-mean-square amplitude and (2) the negative peak amplitude of the event-related potential to target stimuli (target ERP) at Fz, Cz, P3, Pz, and P4; and (3) EEG theta frequency (4.5-8 Hz) power at Fz, Cz, P3, Pz, P4, PO7, PO8 and Oz. A statistical prediction model that used a subset of these features accounted for >60% of the variance in copy-spelling performance (p < 0.001, mean R(2) = 0.6175). The correlations reflected between-subject, rather than within-subject, effects. The results enhance understanding of performance differences among P300 BCI users. The predictors found in this study might help in: (1) identifying suitable candidates for long-term P300 BCI operation; (2) assessing performance online. Further work on within-subject effects needs to be done to establish whether P300 BCI user performance could be improved by optimizing one or more of these EEG features.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Aged
  • Algorithms
  • Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / psychology*
  • Brain / physiology*
  • Brain Mapping
  • Data Interpretation, Statistical
  • Disabled Persons
  • Discriminant Analysis
  • Electroencephalography*
  • Event-Related Potentials, P300 / physiology*
  • Female
  • Forecasting
  • Humans
  • Least-Squares Analysis
  • Linear Models
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Online Systems
  • Photic Stimulation
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Software
  • Theta Rhythm / physiology
  • User-Computer Interface*