The Changes of Corticospinal Excitability During the Control of Artificial Hand Through the Brain–Computer Interface Based on the P300 Component of Visual Evoked Potential

Abstract

The study has assayed a new type of brain–computer interface technology based on the P300 wave (BCI–P300), in which an artificial hand with moving fingers was used as an executive device, and flashes of LEDs located on each finger were used as visual stimuli. The focus of the subject’s attention on particular LED flashes on the finger subjectively selected for flexion was detected by the P300 wave from the flash of the corresponding LED and transmitted to the electric drive of the corresponding finger. We have tested the hypothesis that the work of the subject in the BCI–P300 with control of finger drives of an artificial hand leads to an increase in corticospinal excitability, measured with transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Neurophysiological trial involving 43 volunteers has shown that the corticospinal excitability actually increases when the fingers of the artificial hand are controlled through the BCI–P300 and does not change if the subjects simply observe independent movements of the fingers of the artificial hand, or work in the BCI–P300 with a panel of LEDs located separately from the hand. The confirmation of the hypothesis of increased corticospinal excitability during the active work of a subject with the control of fingers of the artificial hand in the BCI-P300 allows us to recommend this complex as a simulator of motor function in the recovery period after stroke or neurotraumas.