Analysis and Real-Time Classification of Motor-Related EEG and MEG Patterns

Abstract

This chapter describes wavelet analysis of the motor-related cortical activity. First, it introduced real and mental motor activity in the young and the middle-aged healthy subjects. The real motor acts, or motor execution (ME), enables interaction with the environment and induces the motor-related changes in 8–12 Hz and 15–30 Hz wavelet power in the motor cortex. The mental motor acts, or motor imagery (MI), did not include muscle control but may have a motor-planning stage, similar to ME. Detecting the ME and MI brain states underlies the brain-computer interfaces (BCI) for motor control. The ME-BCIs can be used to control exoskeletons and robots. The MI-based BCIs may detect the motor intentions in the paralyzed patients to recover their motor abilities. Second, we described two types of motor imagery: kinesthetic and visual. Visual imagery (VI) corresponds to the self-visualization of the subject moving a limb that does not require special training. Kinesthetic imagery (KI) is the feeling of muscle movement that can only be realized by athletes or specially trained persons. Finally, we considered how the ME brain states change with age representing criteria for an objective assessment of the motor abilities in elderly adults.