title: Cognitive assessment in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis by means of P300-Brain Computer Interface: a preliminary study.
abstract: To investigate the use of P300-based Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology for the administration of motor-verbal free cognitive tests in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
  
  
  
  We recruited 15 ALS patients and 15 age- and education-matched healthy subjects. All participants underwent a BCI-based neuropsychological assessment, together with two standard cognitive screening tools (FAB, MoCA), two psychological questionnaires (BDI, STAI-Y) and a usability questionnaire. For patients, clinical and respiratory examinations were also performed, together with a behavioural assessment (FBI).
  
  
  
  Correlations were observed between standard cognitive and BCI-based neuropsychological assessment, mainly concerning execution times in the ALS group. Moreover, patients provided positive rates concerning the BCI perceived usability and subjective experience. Finally, execution times at the BCI-based neuropsychological assessment were useful to discriminate patients from controls, with patients achieving lower processing speed than controls regarding executive functions.
  
  
  
  The developed motor-verbal free neuropsychological battery represents an innovative approach, that could provide relevant information for clinical practice and ethical issues. Its use for cognitive evaluation throughout the course of ALS, currently not available by means of standard assessment, must be addressed in further longitudinal validation studies. Further work will be aimed at refining the developed system and enlarging the cognitive spectrum investigated.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience - IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Poletti
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience - IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Carelli
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience - IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Solca
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience - IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Annalisa
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lafronza
authors.affiliation: b Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pedroli
authors.affiliation: c Department of Cardiovascular, Neural and Metabolic Sciences - IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Faini
authors.affiliation: d Department of Neuroscience and Mental Health , Università degli Studi di Milano, IRCCS Fondazione Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zago
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience - IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan , Italy.|e Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation , "Dino Ferrari" Center, Università degli Studi di Milano , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ticozzi
authors.affiliation: f ICT & Biomedical Technology Integration Unit , Centre for Innovation and Technology Transfer (CITT), Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi Onlus , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Meriggi
authors.affiliation: b Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Pietro
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Cipresso
authors.affiliation: g Department of Neurology - University of Ulm , Ulm , Germany , and.
authors.forename: Dorothée
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lulé
authors.affiliation: g Department of Neurology - University of Ulm , Ulm , Germany , and.
authors.forename: Albert C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ludolph
authors.affiliation: b Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan , Italy.|h Department of Psychology , Catholic University of Milan , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Riva
authors.affiliation: a Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience - IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan , Italy.|e Department of Pathophysiology and Transplantation , "Dino Ferrari" Center, Università degli Studi di Milano , Milan , Italy.
authors.forename: Vincenzo
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Silani
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000690:Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis / Q000150:complications*; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D018913:Event-Related Potentials, P300 / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014584:User-Computer Interface
keywords: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis; P300 Brain Computer Interface; motor-verbal free cognitive assessment