Cognitive-motor brain-machine interfaces

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) open new horizons for the treatment of paralyzed persons, giving hope for the artificial restoration of lost physiological functions. Whereas BMI development has mainly focused on motor rehabilitation, recent studies have suggested that higher cognitive functions can also be deciphered from brain activity, bypassing low level planning and execution functions, and replacing them by computer-controlled effectors. This review describes the new generation of cognitive-motor BMIs, focusing on three BMI types: 1. Speech BMI - reconstructing a person's speech based on the neuronal activity. 2. Direct object control - controlling object movement without mimicking the limb movement that would yield the desired object movement. 3. Decoding internal processes, such as neuronal representations of sensory information and decision making. By outlining recent progress in developing these BMI types, we aim to provide a unified view of contemporary research towards the replacement of behavioral outputs of cognitive processes by direct interaction with the brain. (C) 2014 Published by Elsevier Ltd.