The problem arises from the difficulties in performing a standard neuropsychological battery, which is generally made by tests and self-reports. Clinical evidence shows that it is sometimes almost impossible to perform a correct patients’ evaluation with such
instruments. In our opinion, BCI could represent an improvement of such situation. The development of a specific neuropsychological battery, adapted to get answers from ALS patients through the Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical BCI, could represent a challenge for researchers and a great chance for ALS patients. On the other hand, the use of BCI for AAC with these patients shows several limitations. These obstacles are partly due to technical issues, such as the transportation of the equipment and the recording quality in ecological settings different from the laboratory
Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical or the electrical artifacts that can alter signals. Other issues to be considered are the fatigability of the patients and the degree of distress they can feel, especially during the training Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical and the initial phases of the use of BCI. Furthermore, the presence of cognitive impairment should be taken into account to fully understand if the poor results on BCI are due to patients’ cognitive deficits in comprehension, attention, concentration, etc. These important issues will be discussed in the following sections. Brain-Computer Interface As previously mentioned, a BCI is a communication system that enables the generation of a control except signal from brain responses such as sensorimotor rhythms and evoked Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical potentials; it bypasses motor output and conveys messages directly from the brain to a computer. Therefore, it constitutes a novel communication option for people with severe motor disabilities, such Inhibitors,research,lifescience,medical as ALS patients. These systems can use a variety of different electrophysiological signals. This review summarizes the current state of P300-based BCI systems focusing on its application for ALS patients.
Definition and essential features GSK-3 of a BCI system BCI is a communication system that does not depend on the brain’s normal output pathways of peripheral nerves and muscles (Fig. 1; Wolpaw et al. 2000); it is a technical interface between the human brain and a computer, that allows communication. Users explicitly manipulate their brain activity instead of using motor movements to produce signals that can be used to control computers or communication devices. As a matter of fact, a BCI system sends a message via brain activity to an external device, which performs the desired action. In order to successfully use a BCI, feedback and the following adaptation of brain activity are extremely important. Brain activity can be monitored by several methods.