Associations between pre-cue parietal alpha oscillations and event related desynchronization in motor imagery-based brain-computer interface

Introduction: Motor Imagery based brain-computer interfaces (MI-BCIs) offer a promising avenue for controlling external devices via neural signals generated through imagined movements. Despite their potential, the performance of MI-BCIs remains highly variable across users and sessions, presenting a barrier to broader adoption.

Methods: This study explores the influence of pre-cue parietal alpha power on the quality of the event-related desynchronization (ERD) responses, a critical indicator of MI processes. Analyzing data from 102 sessions involving 77 participants.

Results: We identified a robust significant correlation between pre-cue parietal alpha power and ERD magnitude, indicating that elevated pre-cue parietal alpha power is associated with enhanced ERD responses. Additionally, we observed a significant positive relationship between pre-cue parietal alpha power and MI-BCI classification accuracy, highlighting the potential relevance of this neurophysiological metric for BCI performance.

Discussion: Our findings suggest that pre-cue parietal alpha power can serve as a potential marker for optimizing MI-BCI systems. Integrating this marker into individualized training protocols can potentially enhance MI-BCI systems' consistency, and overall accuracy.