The maximum length sequence (m-sequence) has been successfully used to study the linear/nonlinear components of auditory evoked potential (AEP) with rapid stimulation. However, more study is needed to evaluate the effect of the m-sequence order in terms of the noise attenuation performance. This study aimed to address this issue using response-free electroencephalogram (EEG) and EEGs with nonlinear AEPs. We examined the noise attenuation ratios to evaluate the noise variation for the calculations of superimposed averaging and cross-correlation, respectively, which constitutes the main process in the deconvolution method using the dataset of spontaneous EEGs to simulate the cases of different orders (order 5 to 12) of m-sequences. And an experiment using m-sequences of order 7 and 9 was performed in true cases with substantial linear and nonlinear AEPs. The results demonstrate that the noise attenuation ratio is well agreed with the theoretical value derived from the properties of m-sequences on the random noise condition. The comparison of waveforms for AEP components from two m-sequences showed high similarity suggesting the insensitivity of AEP to the m-sequence order. This study provides a more comprehensive solution to the selection of m-sequences which will facilitate the feasible application on the nonlinear AEP with m-sequence method.
We have utilized the binocular flat and stereoscopic pattern to record visual evoked potentials (VEP) in normal and strabismic subjects. The aim was to find an electrophysiological correlation with the degree of binocular interaction in these subjects.The perception as tridimensional or flat derived from the disparity obtained with polaroid filters placed in front of the eyes. In normal subjects, the results demonstrated a significant increase of VEP amplitude during tridimensional perception of the pattern. In strabismic subjects the electrophysiological response were not correlated with the binocular conditions. The findings in the present study suggest that the binocular disparity in VEP examination is a useful technique and a better objective index for evaluating stereoscopic function than the psychophysical technique. （Chin J Ocul Fundus Dis,1992,8:10-13）
Brain-controlled wheelchair (BCW) is one of the important applications of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. The present research shows that simulation control training is of great significance for the application of BCW. In order to improve the BCW control ability of users and promote the application of BCW under the condition of safety, this paper builds an indoor simulation training system based on the steady-state visual evoked potentials for BCW. The system includes visual stimulus paradigm design and implementation, electroencephalogram acquisition and processing, indoor simulation environment modeling, path planning, and simulation wheelchair control, etc. To test the performance of the system, a training experiment involving three kinds of indoor path-control tasks is designed and 10 subjects were recruited for the 5-day training experiment. By comparing the results before and after the training experiment, it was found that the average number of commands in Task 1, Task 2, and Task 3 decreased by 29.5%, 21.4%, and 25.4%, respectively (P < 0.001). And the average number of commands used by the subjects to complete all tasks decreased by 25.4% (P < 0.001). The experimental results show that the training of subjects through the indoor simulation training system built in this paper can improve their proficiency and efficiency of BCW control to a certain extent, which verifies the practicability of the system and provides an effective assistant method to promote the indoor application of BCW.
The impulsive electroencephalograph (EEG) noises in evoked potential (EP) signals is very strong, usually with a heavy tail and infinite variance characteristics like the acceleration noise impact, hypoxia and etc., as shown in other special tests. The noises can be described by α stable distribution model. In this paper, Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) and pseudo Wigner-Ville distribution (PWVD) time-frequency distribution based on the fractional lower order moment are presented to be improved. We got fractional lower order WVD (FLO-WVD) and fractional lower order PWVD (FLO-PWVD) time-frequency distribution which could be suitable for α stable distribution process. We also proposed the fractional lower order spatial time-frequency distribution matrix (FLO-STFM) concept. Therefore, combining with time-frequency underdetermined blind source separation (TF-UBSS), we proposed a new fractional lower order spatial time-frequency underdetermined blind source separation (FLO-TF-UBSS) which can work in α stable distribution environment. We used the FLO-TF-UBSS algorithm to extract EPs. Simulations showed that the proposed method could effectively extract EPs in EEG noises, and the separated EPs and EEG signals based on FLO-TF-UBSS were almost the same as the original signal, but blind separation based on TF-UBSS had certain deviation. The correlation coefficient of the FLO-TF-UBSS algorithm was higher than the TF-UBSS algorithm when generalized signal-to-noise ratio (GSNR) changed from 10 dB to 30 dB and α varied from 1.06 to 1.94, and was approximately equal to 1. Hence, the proposed FLO-TF-UBSS method might be better than the TF-UBSS algorithm based on second order for extracting EP signal under an EEG noise environment.
Motor imaging therapy is of great significance to the rehabilitation of patients with stroke or motor dysfunction, but there are few studies on lower limb motor imagination. When electrical stimulation is applied to the posterior tibial nerve of the ankle, the steady-state somatosensory evoked potentials (SSSEP) can be induced at the electrical stimulation frequency. In order to better realize the classification of lower extremity motor imagination, improve the classification effect, and enrich the instruction set of lower extremity motor imagination, this paper designs two experimental paradigms: Motor imaging (MI) paradigm and Hybrid paradigm. The Hybrid paradigm contains electrical stimulation assistance. Ten healthy college students were recruited to complete the unilateral movement imagination task of left and right foot in two paradigms. Through time-frequency analysis and classification accuracy analysis, it is found that compared with MI paradigm, Hybrid paradigm could get obvious SSSEP and ERD features. The average classification accuracy of subjects in the Hybrid paradigm was 78.61%, which was obviously higher than the MI paradigm. It proves that electrical stimulation has a positive role in promoting the classification training of lower limb motor imagination.
In order to investigate the clinical significance of electron-neurogram for evaluating the degree and prognosis of acute traumatic cervical spinal cord injury without fracture or dislocation, electron-neurogram and sensory evoked potential (SEP) of the upper limbs in 4 such cases were recorded from the 3rd to 30th day after the injury. The results showed SEP and MEP could be obtained from every nerve in both upper limbs, and continous monitoring of SEP and MEP could provide valuable data to judge the degree and prognosis of the injury in spinal cord.
Brain-computer interface (BCI) systems based on steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) have become one of the major paradigms in BCI research due to their high signal-to-noise ratio and short training time required by users. Fast and accurate decoding of SSVEP features is a crucial step in SSVEP-BCI research. However, the current researches lack a systematic overview of SSVEP decoding algorithms and analyses of the connections and differences between them, so it is difficult for researchers to choose the optimum algorithm under different situations. To address this problem, this paper focuses on the progress of SSVEP decoding algorithms in recent years and divides them into two categories—trained and non-trained—based on whether training data are needed. This paper also explains the fundamental theories and application scopes of decoding algorithms such as canonical correlation analysis (CCA), task-related component analysis (TRCA) and the extended algorithms, concludes the commonly used strategies for processing decoding algorithms, and discusses the challenges and opportunities in this field in the end.
ObjectiveTo study whether the pattern visual evoked potential (P-VEP) under different spatial frequency in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) is different from normal people. MethodsP-VEP examination under high (15') and low (60') spatial frequency was performed on 18 MS patients (36 eyes) treated in our department from September 2011 to April 2012 and 20 normal volunteers (40 eyes). Then, we analyzed the difference between the two groups under the above-mentioned two kinds of spatial frequency. ResultsThe latency of P100 of P-VEP under high spatial frequency in MS patients was (120.50±13.04) ms which was significantly different from (109.21±5.38) ms of normal volunteers (P < 0.05). The latency of P100 of P-VEP under low spatial frequency in MS patients was (109.57±12.87) ms, which was also significantly different from (103.31±5.45) ms of normal volunteers (P < 0.05). The amplitude of P100 of P-VEP under high spatial frequency in MS patients was (9.17±5.69)μV and it was significantly lower than that[(15.69±8.45)μv] of normal volunteers (P < 0.05). The amplitude of P100 of P-VEP under low spatial frequency in MS patients was (11.93±16.75)μV and it was not significantly different from normal volunteers[(13.47±9.24μV)]. Based on different corrected vision, the MS patients were divided into two groups (vision≥1.0 and vision < 1.0). For patients with vision≥1.0, the latency of P100 and the amplitude of P100 of P-VEP under high spatial frequency was (113.43±8.28) ms and (12.94±5.46)μV; the latency of P100 and the amplitude of P100 of P-VEP under low spatial frequency was (111.13±11.50) ms and (11.57±5.60)μV. For patients with vision < 1.0, the latency of P100 and the amplitude of P100 of P-VEP under high spatial frequency was (126.69±13.49) ms and (5.87±3.43)μV; the latency of P100 and the amplitude of P100 of P-VEP under low spatial frequency was (108.26±14.11) ms and (12.24±5.82)μV. There was no significant difference in the latency and amplitude of P100 under low spatial frequency between the two groups with different corrected vision (P > 0.05), but the latency and amplitude of P100 under high spatial frequency were both significantly different between those two groups (P < 0.05). ConclusionsCompared with normal people, MS patients feature latency delay and amplitude reduction of the P-VEP, which was more severe under high spatial frequency. P-VEP under high spatial frequency may become an important evidence to evaluate visual function of MS patients.
Brain-computer interface (BCI) system is a system that achieves communication and control among humans and computers and other electronic equipment with the electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. This paper describes the working theory of the wireless smart home system based on the BCI technology. We started to get the steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP) using the single chip microcomputer and the visual stimulation which composed by LED lamp to stimulate human eyes. Then, through building the power spectral transformation on the LabVIEW platform, we processed timely those EEG signals under different frequency stimulation so as to transfer them to different instructions. Those instructions could be received by the wireless transceiver equipment to control the household appliances and to achieve the intelligent control towards the specified devices. The experimental results showed that the correct rate for the 10 subjects reached 100%, and the control time of average single device was 4 seconds, thus this design could totally achieve the original purpose of smart home system.
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the characteristics and the pathologic classification of electrical-injury nerve using somatosensory evoked potential(SEP) technique. METHODS: SEP were detected and evaluated in 12 cases with electrical-injury nerve during operation, electrical stimulation was commenced from distal side of nerve where the structure of nerve looks normal under operating microscope, up to proximal side until evoking out a stable SEP predeterminate virtual value. Pathological examination and the following functional evaluation were compared with the values of SEP. RESULTS: At the site of nerve looking normal under operating microscope, perineurium appears normal or slightly thicken. But there are obvious fibrosis and fibrotic proliferation between fascicular and intrafascicular. Vessel plexus is not seen. At SEP stabilizely evoked site, nervous construction is normal, there are visible interfascicular vessel plexus and connective tissue appears loose. Comparing SEP values with pathological section, amplitude and latency of SEP is positively correlative with the quality of nerve. Eight cases repaired with SEP technique to select the anastomosis site for nerve transplantation were followed up, two-point discrimination reached grade III (America hand surgery association criterion) within 62.5% cases. CONCLUSION: SEP technique is valuable method for functional evaluation of electrical- injury nerve which has a complicated pathology. The pathology of electrical-injury nerve can be classified into 4 types, type A: fibrosis of nerve; type B: nerve looking normal under operation microscope, perineurium appears thicken, and there are obvious fibrosis and fibrotic proliferation between fascicular and intrafascicular, vessel plexus is rarely to see; type C: nerve looks normal, lymphocyte infiltration exists and it is obvious that there are many physalis-like, retrogressive construction in the section; type D: nervous construction is normal, there are visible interfascicular vessel plexus, and connective tissue appears loose, SEP always can be stably evoked.