Article

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) use brain activity to control
external devices, facilitating paralyzed patients to interact with the
environment. In this review, we focus on the current advances of non-invasive
BMIs for communication in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and
for restoration of motor impairment after severe stroke.
BMI represents a promising strategy to establish communication with paralyzed ALS
patients as it does not need muscle engagement for its use. Distinct techniques
have been explored to assess brain neurophysiology to control BMI for patients'
communication, especially electroencephalography (EEG) and more recently
near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Previous studies demonstrated successful
communication with ALS patients using EEG-BMI when patients still showed residual
eye control, but patients with complete paralysis were unable to communicate with
this system. We recently introduced functional NIRS (fNIRS)-BMI for communication
in ALS patients in the complete locked-in syndrome (i.e., when ALS patients are
unable to engage any muscle), opening new doors for communication in ALS patients
after complete paralysis. BMI FOR STROKE MOTOR RECOVERY: In addition to assisted
communication, BMI is also being extensively studied for motor recovery after
stroke. BMI for stroke motor recovery includes intensive BMI training linking
brain activity related to patient's intention to move the paretic limb with the
contingent sensory feedback of the paretic limb movement guided by assistive
devices. BMI studies in this area are mainly focused on EEG- or
magnetoencephalography (MEG)-BMI systems due to their high temporal resolution,
which facilitates online contingency between intention to move and sensory
feedback of the intended movement. EEG-BMI training was recently demonstrated in
a controlled study to significantly improve motor performance in stroke patients
with severe paresis. Neural basis for BMI-induced restoration of motor function
and perspectives for future BMI research for stroke motor recovery are discussed.
CI - Copyright (c) 2015 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS