EEG-based communication and control: short-term role of feedback.

TitleEEG-based communication and control: short-term role of feedback.
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication1998
AuthorsMcFarland, DJ, McCane, LM, Wolpaw, J
JournalIEEE transactions on rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society
Volume6
Pagination7–11
Date Published03/1998
ISSN1063-6528
KeywordsSensitivity and Specificity
Abstract

When people learn to control the amplitudes of certain electroencephalogram (EEG) components (e.g., the 8-12 Hz mu-rhythm over sensorimotor cortex) and use them to move a cursor to a target on a video screen, feedback about performance is normally provided by cursor movement and by trial outcome (i.e., success or failure). We assessed the short-term effects of this feedback on EEG control. After subjects received initial training with feedback present, feedback was removed intermittently for periods of several minutes. Subjects still displayed EEG control when feedback was removed. Removal of cursor movement alone appeared to have effects comparable to removal of both cursor movement and trial outcome. These results show that, in the short-term at least, mu-rhythm control is not dependent on the sensory input provided by cursor movement. They also suggest that feedback can have inhibitory as well as facilitory effects on EEG control, and that these effects vary across subjects. This finding has implications for the design of training procedures.

URLhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9535518
DOI10.1109/86.662615

You are here