Motor priming as a brain-computer interface

Abstract

This paper reports on a project to overcome a difficulty associated with motor imagery (MI) in a brain-computer interface (BCI), in which user training relies on discovering how to best carry out the MI given only open-ended instructions. To address this challenge we investigate the use of a motor priming (MP), a similar mental task but one linked to a tangible behavioural goal. To investigate the efficacy of this approach in creating the changes in brain activity necessary to drive a BCI, an experiment is carried out in which the user is required to prepare and execute predefined movements. Significant lateralisations of alpha activity are discussed and significant classification accuracies of movement preparation versus no preparation are also reported; indicating that this method is promising alternative to motor imagery in driving a BCI.