Motor Imagery for Mouse Automation and Control
Bedi Rajneesh Kaur
Dept. of computer engineering,MIT COE,Pune, India, 411038meenubedi@hotmail.com
Bhor Rohan Tatyaba
Dept. of computer engineering,MIT COE,Pune, India, 411038Rohanbhor09@yahoo.co.in
Kad Reshma Hanumant
Dept. of computer engineering,MIT COE,Pune, India, 411038Kad.reshma29@gmail.com
Katariya Payal Jawahar
Dept. of computer engineering,MIT COE,Pune, India, 411038Payal.katariya@gmail.com
Gove Nitinkumar Rajendra
Dept. of computer engineering,MIT COE,Pune, India, 411038Gove.nitinkumar@gmail.com
Abstract
—
A brain-computer interface (BCI) basically transformsthe brain’s electrical activity into commands that can be used tocontrol devices such as robotic arms, pianos and other devices.With this, BCI provides a non-muscular communication channel,which can be used to help people with highly compromised motorabilities or functions. Mental imagery is the mental rehearsal of actions without overt execution. A study of motor imagery canhelp us to develop better neuroprosthetic systems. In this paper,we describe general concepts about motor imagery and otheraspects associated with it. Recent researches in this field, hasemployed motor imagery in normal and brain-damaged subjectsto understand the content and structure of covert processes thatoccur before execution of action. Finally, we propose a newsystem “
μ
MAC”, which will automate and control basic mouseoperations using motor imagery.
Keywords
-
Mu waves, Motor imagery, EEG, Neuroprosthesis, BCI, Mouse Control
.
I.
INTRODUCTION
Motor imagery is a one of the most studied andresearched topic in the field of cognitive neuroscience.Roughly stated, motor imagery is a mental state wherein asubject imagines something. To be more specific, motorimagery is a dynamic state during which the subject mentallysimulates a given action.According to Jeannerod, motor imagery is a result of conscious access to the contents of intent of movement [1][2].Motor imagery is a cognitive state which can be experiencedvirtually by anyone without more training. It is similar tomany real time situations that are experienced in life likewatching others performing action with intention to imitate it,making moves, imagining oneself performing action and manymore [3][4]. While preparing and imagining a particularmovement, the mu and central beta rhythm are desynchronizedover the contralateral primary sensorimotor area [5]. Thisphenomenon is referred as Event-related Desynchronization(ERD)[6].The Graz-BCI developed at Graz university of technologyby the pfurtscheller's group during nineties was the firt onlineBCI sytem that used ERD classification in signle EEG trials todifferentiate between various types of motor execution andmotor imagery. After these basic studies, ERD during motorimagery has been investigated for its usability for devicecontrol by various scientists.II.
PHYSIOLOGICAL ASPECTS RELATEDTO MOTOR IMAGERYSimulating a particular activity mentally leads toactivation of motor pathways. An increase is seen in muscularactivity during the motor imagery [7]. During this scenario,electromyography is limited to specifically those muscleswhich participate in simulated action [8]. Motor imagery isindependent of ability to execute the movement and isdependent on central processing mechanism.It has been demonstrated by using various brain imagingmethods that different distinct regions of cortex are activatedduring motor imagery i.e. MI [9]. It has been revealed inneural studies that imagined and actual actions share the samesubtrates or brain areas. Various brain areas that get activatedduring motor imagery are supplementary motor area, primarymotor cortex, the inferior parietal cortex, basal ganglia and thecerebellum.Fig 1 shows pattern of cortical activation during mentalmotor imagery in normal subjects. The main Brodmann areasactivated during motor imagery have been outlined onschematic views of a left hemisphere [7]. As shown in figure,there is consistent involvement of pre-motor area 6, withoutinvolvement of primary motor cortex (M1). The AC-PC linedefines the horizontal reference line in magnetic resonanceimaging (MRI) scan. The vertical line passing though the AC
(IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security,Vol. 9, No. 10, October 2011131http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ISSN 1947-5500
(VAC) defines a verticofrontal plane. VPC is the vertical linepassing through the PC [10].The two rhythms that are strongly related with motorimagery are mu and central beta rhythms. The maincharacteristic that defines the mu rhythm is that it attenuates inone cerebral hemisphere during preparation of contralateralextremity movement [5], the thought of the contralateralmovement or tactile electrical simulation of a contralaterallimb. As these rhythms are associated with cortical areashaving most direct connection with the brain's normal motoroutput channels, they are quite promising for BCI research.Other thing which should be considered is that, thefrequencies that are easy to be performed during ME may betoo fast to imagine for a subject who is not used to motorimagery training. Due to this, most of the researchers usemotor imagery with half of the velocity (0.5Hz) that are usedfor movement execution in simple movements [12].Fig.1 Pattern of cortical activation during mental motorimagery in normal subjects [7].III.
MENTAL REHEARSAL STRATEGIES FORMOTOR IMAGERYBasically, there are two different strategies that a subjectmay take or opt when asked to rehearse mentally a motor task These are -
1. Visual Imagery2. Kinetic Imagery1. Visual Imagery:
In this strategy, the subject produces a visualrepresentation of their moving limb(s). The subject viewshimself from third person perspective (e.g. seeing onerunning from an external point of reference).This type of imagery is also referred to as externalimagery as for a person to view movements must have athird person perspective. VI activates regions primarilyconcerned with visual processing and does not obey Fitt’slaw nor is it correlated with excitability of the cortico-spinal path as assessed by transcranial magneticstimulation [11].
2. Kinetic Imagery
:In this strategy, the subject rehearses or practices theparticular movements using the kinesthetic feeling of themovement. Here, the subject sees himself from firstperson perspective. This type of imagery is also referredto as internal imagery. Each type of motor imagery hasdifferent properties with respect to both psychophysicaland physiological perspectives. The motor and sensoryregions that are activated during KI are same as thoseactivated during overt movement [11].Motor or kinesthetic imagery has to be differentiatedfrom visual imagery because it shows different qualities:not the virtual environment is imagined in a third person’sview but introspective kinesthetic feelings of moving thelimb in the first person’s view [10].IV.
TRAINING MOTOR SKILL.A subject doing mental practice/task with MI is requiredto have all the declarative knowledge about the variouscomponent of that specific activity/task before practicingit [13]. So, a proper training should be given to subjectsabout the various components of an activity/task that theyare going to rehearse or practice.The non-conscious processes involved in mental task training are best activated by the internally driven imageswhich promote the kinesthetic feeling of movement [13].Mental training and execution training are twocomplementary techniques.According to Gandevia, motor imagery improves thedynamics of motor performance, for instance themovement trajectories [14]. The lower effect of MItraining compared to ME training may be caused bylacking sensorimotor feedback which results in decreasedprogress in motor training in lesion patients [15].Sufficient level of complexity of imagined motortask/activity ensures occurrence of lateralizing effect of brain activation during MI [16]. An everyday activity can
(IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security,Vol. 9, No. 10, October 2011132http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ISSN 1947-5500
also be used for study of brain activations during MI intraining.This has two potential advantages [17]:1.
Easy modulation in their complexity.2.
Familiarity of task to subject helps him togenerate vivid mental representation without anyprior practice.Motor imagery is widely used by athletes andmusicians of improving their performance. It can be usedfor automation and control of mouse operations onsystem. Various studies have elaborated and demonstratedapplications of motor imagery for controlling mouseoperations [21-24].V.
THE PROPOSED SYSTEMThe systems that are proposed in these studies tryto implement 1-D or 2-D control of mouse operations.Here, we propose a system that will try to automateall the operations of mouse by using motor imagery. Thisincludes mouse movement, left click, right click anddouble click. Following figure fig.2 shows a block diagram of the proposed system. Different parts of systemare explained below:Fig 2 Block Diagram of proposed system
Signal Acquisition Unit:
The proposed system works on multi-channel EEGsignals that are generated for each motor imagery activity.This unit receives the EEG signals from the sensors thatare attached to the scalp of the subject’s head. The signalscaptured by the signal acquisition unit are then passed tothe spike sorting unit for further processing.
Spike Sorting Unit:
The signal captured by signal acquisition systemcontains noise and other unwanted spikes. These are thenprocessed by the spike sorting unit. The signal here isprocessed in three phases:
a)
Preprocessing:
This phase is responsible for artifactremoval from the acquired EEG signals.
b)
Feature Extraction:
This phase extracts differed desired featuresfrom the processed signal.
c)
Detection and classification:
This phase is responsible for actual spikedetection and its clustering into different classes.
Signal Decoding Module:
This module actually decodes/detects a particularmotor imagery signal of system’s concern which is furtherused by control module to automate the mouse operation.
Control Module:
This module on receiving the decoded signalfrom signal decoding module actually replicates thedesired mouse operation on the monitor.
Monitor:
This is an actual display on which mouseoperation is replicated.Finally, the user receives the video feedback in theform of the mouse operation. This helps in monitoring theperformance of the system.CONCLUSIONThis paper explains the basics of motor imagery, itsApplications and other factors related to it. It alsoproposes a system for automation and control of mouse operation using brain mu and beta rhythmsthat are fired during this activity. This system willeventually make the existing systems moreinteractive and usable for physically challengedpeople. Apart from this, the system is quite sensitive
(IJCSIS) International Journal of Computer Science and Information Security,Vol. 9, No. 10, October 2011133http://sites.google.com/site/ijcsis/ISSN 1947-5500
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Motor Imagery for Mouse Automation and Control
A brain-computer interface (BCI) basically transforms the brain’s electrical activity into commands that can be used to control devices such as robotic arms, pianos and other devices. With this, BCI provides a non-muscular communication channel, which…
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