Spatial attention orienting to improve the efficacy of a brain-computer interface for communication

Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are systems which allow users to control devices, by means of their brain signals, without the involvement of the users' muscles. BCIs represent a potential solution for completely paralyzed patients who cannot communicate. We designed two new visual interfaces for controlling the movement of a virtual cursor on a monitor, implementing the cognitive principles of exogenous and endogenous attention orienting in a BCI driven by the P300. A group of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and a matched group of healthy controls were tested. Results show that ALS patients can use both interfaces for controlling the cursor, although they reached a better performance with the endogenous attention orienting interface. We propose that the implementation of cognitive principles can play a key role in the development of new and more efficient BCIs.