Motor imagery based brain-computer interfaces: An emerging technology to rehabilitate motor deficits

When the sensory-motor integration system is malfunctioning provokes a wide variety of neurological disorders, which in many cases cannot be treated with conventional medication, or via existing therapeutic technology. A brain-computer interface (BCI) is a tool that permits to reintegrate the sensory-motor loop, accessing directly to brain information. A potential, promising and quite investigated application of BCI has been in the motor rehabilitation field. It is well-known that motor deficits are the major disability wherewith the worldwide population lives. Therefore, this paper aims to specify the foundation of motor rehabilitation BCIs, as well as to review the recent research conducted so far (specifically, from 2007 to date), in order to evaluate the suitability and reliability of this technology. Although BCI for post-stroke rehabilitation is still in its infancy, the tendency is towards the development of implantable devices that encompass a BCI module plus a stimulation system.