FMRI Brain-computer Interface: a Tool for Neuroscientific Research and Treatment

Overview

Journal Comput Intell Neurosci

Specialty Biology

Date 2008 Feb 16

PMID 18274615

Citations 57

Authors

Ranganatha Sitaram

Andrea Caria

Ralf Veit

Tilman Gaber

Giuseppina Rota

Andrea Kuebler

Niels Birbaumer

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Brain-computer interfaces based on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI-BCI) allow volitional control of anatomically specific regions of the brain. Technological advancement in higher field MRI scanners, fast data acquisition sequences, preprocessing algorithms, and robust statistical analysis are anticipated to make fMRI-BCI more widely available and applicable. This noninvasive technique could potentially complement the traditional neuroscientific experimental methods by varying the activity of the neural substrates of a region of interest as an independent variable to study its effects on behavior. If the neurobiological basis of a disorder (e.g., chronic pain, motor diseases, psychopathy, social phobia, depression) is known in terms of abnormal activity in certain regions of the brain, fMRI-BCI can be targeted to modify activity in those regions with high specificity for treatment. In this paper, we review recent results of the application of fMRI-BCI to neuroscientific research and psychophysiological treatment.

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