ECoG factors underlying multimodal control of a brain-computer interface.

Most current brain-computer interface (BCI) systems for humans use electroencephalographic activity recorded from the scalp, and may be limited in many ways. Electrocorticography (ECoG) is believed to be a minimally-invasive alternative to electroencephalogram (EEG) for BCI systems, yielding superior signal characteristics that could allow rapid user training and faster communication rates. In addition, our preliminary results suggest that brain regions other than the sensorimotor cortex, such as auditory cortex, may be trained to control a BCI system using similar methods as those used to train motor regions of the brain. This could prove to be vital for users who have neurological disease, head trauma, or other conditions precluding the use of sensorimotor cortex for BCI control.