Posterior alpha activity modulated by covert attention used as a control signal for BCI
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1
Radboud University, Netherlands
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2
Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Netherlands
Brain-computer interfaces clearly benefit from as many control signals as possible. We have here explored the possibility of using posterior alpha activity modulated by covert attention as a BCI control signal. Covert attention is the act of mentally focusing on a target without changing gaze. Offline experiments have shown that when attention is directed to the left visual hemifield, alpha activity decreases in the right posterior hemisphere while simultaneously increasing in the left hemisphere (and vice versa). Therefore, the ratio between left and right posterior alpha power, referred to as the 'alpha lateralization index', is strongly correlated with covert attention. We have developed an online brain-computer interface (BCI) system controlled by covert attention. The system is driven by the alpha lateralization index as computed from posterior MEG sensors. We showed that, although subjects were performing better over time, they could produce a reliable control signal without any pre-training. The setup was used to control a simple game where the goal was to move a target of interest towards a central fixation point. Subjects were able to perform in this game well beyond chance. The stage is now set for exploring this BCI system in various settings. For instance we hope to use the setup for training alpha power over occipital areas and investigate behavioral consequences for visual detection.
References
1. van Gerven M., Jensen O., Attention modulations of posterior alpha as a control signal for two-dimensional brain-computer interfaces. (2009) J Neurosci Methods 179(1):78-84.
2. Bahramisharif A., van Gerven M., Heskes T., Jensen O., (submitted) Covert attention allows continuous control.
3. van Gerven M., Bahramisharif A., Heskes T., Jensen O., Selecting Features for BCI Control based on a Covert Spatial Attention Paradigm, (2009) Neural Networks, doi:10.1016/j.neunet.2009.06.004.
Conference:
Biomag 2010 - 17th International Conference on Biomagnetism , Dubrovnik, Croatia, 28 Mar - 1 Apr, 2010.
Presentation Type:
Poster Presentation
Topic:
Brain-computer and neural interfacing
Citation:
Bahramisharif
A,
Gerven
MV,
Okazaki
Y,
Heskes
T and
Jensen
O
(2010). Posterior alpha activity modulated by covert attention used as a control signal for BCI.
Front. Neurosci.
Conference Abstract:
Biomag 2010 - 17th International Conference on Biomagnetism .
doi: 10.3389/conf.fnins.2010.06.00258
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Received:
01 Apr 2010;
Published Online:
01 Apr 2010.
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Correspondence:
Ali Bahramisharif, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands, ali.b.sharif@gmail.com