Assessing motor imagery in brain-computer interface training: Psychological and neurophysiological correlates

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Rehabilitation Technology
• Cognitive Science

Background:

• Motor imagery (MI) is a cognitive tool for motor skill enhancement and movement disorder rehabilitation.
• Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology offers real-time feedback to potentially improve MI training.
• The utility of BCI for measuring MI training effectiveness remains unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate associations between BCI control proficiency and neurophysiological/psychological correlates of MI.
• To determine interrelations among various motor imagery assessment metrics.
• To evaluate the reliability of BCI in assessing MI training outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Studied 19 healthy, BCI-trained volunteers.
• Assessed sensorimotor event-related EEG, corticospinal excitability via TMS, BCI accuracy, and self-reported imagery vividness.
• Performed correlation analysis across all quantitative metrics.

Main Results:

• BCI performance correlated with the ability to suppress EEG sensorimotor rhythms and resting rhythm amplitude.
• BCI accuracy and EEG features did not correlate with corticospinal excitability increase or imagery vividness.
• Corticospinal excitability increase correlated with kinesthetic imagery vividness.

Conclusions:

• Distinct neurophysiological mechanisms (cortical disinhibition and corticospinal excitability) may underlie MI effects.
• BCI is unreliable for assessing MI due to dependence on intrinsic EEG characteristics.
• Comprehensive MI evaluation requires supplementary methods like TMS and psychological testing.