Detection of event-related desynchronization during attempted and imagined movements in tetraplegics for brain switch control.

Motor-impaired individuals such as tetraplegics could benefit from Brain-Computer Interfaces with an intuitive control mechanism, for instance for the control of a neuroprosthesis. Whereas BCI studies in healthy users commonly focus on motor imagery, for the eventual target users, namely patients, attempted movements could potentially be a more promising alternative. In the current study, EEG frequency information was used for classification of both imagined and attempted movements in tetraplegics. Although overall classification rates were considerably lower for tetraplegics than for the control group, both imagined and attempted movement were detectable. Classification rates were significantly higher for the attempted movement condition, with a mean rate of 77%. These results suggest that attempted movement is an appropriate task for BCI control in long-term paralysis patients.