Plenary talk I brain-machine interfaces: Theory and applications

A Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) is an electronic device that interfaces directly with the brain to restore a lost function caused by an injury or disorder. BMIs currently provide new hope for people with disabilities, whose brain function is still intact. By recording brain activity, BMIs could translate recorded brain activity to actions that can interact with the external environment. There are two major types of BMIs: Non-invasive and invasive. Non-invasive BMIs use multiple electrodes to record electroencephalography (EEG) signals from the scalp. Such recording technique enables extracting several time-domain and frequency-domain features that correlate with the subjects' intended behavior. Invasive BMIs, which involve a brain surgery to implant electrodes into the brain, enable recording the activity of individual neurons in the brain in addition to the ability to electrically stimulating such neurons. This talk will give an overview of both the theoretical and practical aspects of non-invasive and invasive BMI research areas. For non-invasive BMIs, several time-domain and frequency-domain features have been the core of multiple applications. Time-domain features, such as the P300 signal which is an apparent increase in the recorded EEG post-presentation of a rare stimulus, and frequency-domain features, such as the steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEP), will be reviewed. On the other hand, invasive BMIs have some clinically successful applications, such as cochlear implants that restore hearing and deep brain stimulation that alleviates the symptoms of Parkinson's disease. Motor control BMIs also allow restoring motor functions impaired by a spinal cord injury. In this talk, such applications will be introduced. In addition, we will focus on using invasive BMIs to restore vision for the blind, which could be achieved by electrically stimulating the visual pathway to provide inputs that mimic what could come from an intact input to the visual pathway.