title: Using a hybrid brain computer interface and virtual reality system to monitor and promote cortical reorganization through motor activity and motor imagery training.
abstract: Stroke is one of the leading causes of adult disability with high economical and societal costs. In recent years, novel rehabilitation paradigms have been proposed to address the life-long plasticity of the brain to regain motor function. We propose a hybrid brain-computer interface (BCI)-virtual reality (VR) system that combines a personalized motor training in a VR environment, exploiting brain mechanisms for action execution and observation, and a neuro-feedback paradigm using mental imagery as a way to engage secondary or indirect pathways to access undamaged cortico-spinal tracts. Furthermore, we present the development and validation experiments of the proposed system. More specifically, EEG data on nine naïve healthy subjects show that a simultaneous motor activity and motor imagery paradigm is more effective at engaging cortical motor areas and related networks to a larger extent. Additionally, we propose a motor imagery driven BCI-VR version of our system that was evaluated with nine different healthy subjects. Data show that users are capable of controlling a virtual avatar in a motor imagery training task that dynamically adjusts its difficulty to the capabilities of the user. User self-report questionnaires indicate enjoyment and acceptance of the proposed system.
authors.affiliation: Universidade da Madeira, 9004-512 Funchal, Portugal. sergi.bermudez@uma.pt
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bermúdez i Badia
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: García Morgade
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Samaha
authors.forename: P F M J
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Verschure
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods; D062207:Brain-Computer Interfaces; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D014584:User-Computer Interface