A study on the primary motor cortex performing motor imagery task for the development of a brain-computer interface

We investigated readiness potential of the motor cortex of human subjects while they performed motor imagery tasks. The purpose was to find possible applications for use in brain-computer interfaces. The results showed that there was some similarity in electroencephalogram (EEG) potentials when subjects performed either motor execution tasks or motor imagery tasks. Fourier transform analysis revealed that frequencies less than 5Hz played a particularly important role while subjects performed both types of task. Our results show that measuring EEG potentials as a way of “reading” peoples’ thoughts while they performs motor imagery tasks involving their hands may have applications in brain-computer interfaces.