Abstract
The objective of our research is to develop brain-computer interface (BCI) for cognitive P300 event-related potentials (ERPs) in a bone-conduction (BC) and air-conduction (AC) auditory oddball paradigm. The utilization of BCI for the severe physical limitation persons will assist them in their communication and enable them to interact with the outside world, which is our final research goal. In order to target communication support for severe neuromuscular disease patients including children, we reconsidered the current state of the communication support in clients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) over the last seven years and examined the possibility of clinical application of BCI technology. Compared to previous P300 BCI system using AC auditory oddball paradigm, our study aims at the possibility of using BC auditory oddball paradigm by arbitrary distinction of the tone burst sound stimulation at different frequencies. The optimal condition for deriving the P300 ERPs wave by AC stimulation using standard headphones was compared with BC stimulation using headphones in contact with both sides of the temporal bone in healthy subjects. It was necessary to examine the transmission characteristics to the auditory pathway such as loudness, pitch and degree of mental load, between AC and BC stimulation methods. It was also necessary to examine auditory processing in the cortex as well as auditory cognitive processes, among others, involved in the P300 ERPs potential selective attention task for our BCI system. Such a BCI system is clinically useful as a communication-assistive technology for patients with severe neuromuscular diseases.
