02734nas a2200349 4500008004100000022001400041245009000055210006900145260001200214300001100226490000600237520175300243653001001996653002902006653003702035653002802072653001102100653001102111653001602122653000902138653001302147653001302160653001002173653002802183100002302211700001402234700002502248700001802273700001802291700002702309856004802336 2011 eng d a1741-255200aClosing the sensorimotor loop: haptic feedback facilitates decoding of motor imagery.0 aClosing the sensorimotor loop haptic feedback facilitates decodi c06/2011 a0360050 v83 a

The combination of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) with robot-assisted physical therapy constitutes a promising approach to neurorehabilitation of patients with severe hemiparetic syndromes caused by cerebrovascular brain damage (e.g. stroke) and other neurological conditions. In such a scenario, a key aspect is how to reestablish the disrupted sensorimotor feedback loop. However, to date it is an open question how artificially closing the sensorimotor feedback loop influences the decoding performance of a BCI. In this paper, we answer this issue by studying six healthy subjects and two stroke patients. We present empirical evidence that haptic feedback, provided by a seven degrees of freedom robotic arm, facilitates online decoding of arm movement intention. The results support the feasibility of future rehabilitative treatments based on the combination of robot-assisted physical therapy with BCIs.

10aBrain10aEvoked Potentials, Motor10aEvoked Potentials, Somatosensory10aFeedback, Physiological10aFemale10aHumans10aImagination10aMale10aMovement10aRobotics10aTouch10aUser-Computer Interface1 aGomez-Rodriguez, M1 aPeters, J1 aHill, Jeremy, Jeremy1 aSchölkopf, B1 aGharabaghi, A1 aGrosse-Wentrup, Moritz uhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21474878