Prediction of arm movement trajectories from ECoG-recordings in humans

• Published in: Journal of neuroscience methods Vol. 167; no. 1; pp. 105 - 114
• Main Authors: Pistohl, Tobias, Ball, Tonio, Schulze-Bonhage, Andreas, Aertsen, Ad, Mehring, Carsten
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 15.01.2008
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Arm - physiopathology; Brain Mapping; Brain-machine interfaces; Decoding; Electric Stimulation - methods; Electrocorticography; Electroencephalography; Epilepsy - physiopathology; Epilepsy - therapy; Humans; Motor control; Motor Cortex - physiopathology; Movement - physiology; Neuronal motor prostheses; Numerical Analysis, Computer-Assisted; Predictive Value of Tests; Spectrum Analysis; User-Computer Interface; Brain-machine interfaces; Decoding; Motor control; Neuronal motor prostheses; Electrocorticography
• ISSN: 0165-0270; 1872-678X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2007.10.001

Electrocorticographic (ECoG) signals have been shown to contain reliable information about the direction of arm movements and can be used for on-line cursor control. These findings indicate that the ECoG is a potential basis for a brain-machine interface (BMI) for application in paralyzed patients. However, previous approaches to ECoG-BMIs were either based on classification of different movement patterns or on a voluntary modulation of spectral features. For a continuous multi-dimensional BMI control, the prediction of complete movement trajectories, as it has already been shown for spike data and local field potentials (LFPs), would be a desirable addition for the ECoG, too. Here, we examined ECoG signals from six subjects with subdurally implanted ECoG-electrodes during continuous two-dimensional arm movements between random target positions. Our results show that continuous trajectories of 2D hand position can be approximately predicted from the ECoG recorded from hand/arm motor cortex. This indicates that ECoG signals, related to body movements, can directly be transferred to equivalent controls of an external effector for continuous BMI control.