Decoding of error-related potentials in continuous feedback protocols for personalized human computer interaction

The ability to notice erroneous behavior is crucial for effective training. Within the framework of neuroprosthetics, numerous studies in electroencephalography (EEG) confirm the existence of neural correlates when humans perceive the erroneous actions of the device. Subsequently, the decoding of this correlate has been used to correct the erroneous behavior performed by the agent or to tune the behavioral strategy of the agent, among others. However, a main limitation of current approaches is that the actions of the agent were discretized, thus restraining the usability of such systems. The main objective of this PhD study is to study, and decode, the neural correlates of error evaluation under continuous trajectories performed by external agents; and to use this decoding to tune the continuous behavior of the agent for individual users. To accomplish this goal, two essential questions will be investigated: (i) whether it is possible to infer individual preference under continuous state-action scenarios, and (ii) how to create a reliable decoding pipeline in a continuous fashion. Results obtained during the first year of the PhD have confirmed the existence of such correlates under continuous motions of a robotic arm. Furthermore, such correlates encode individual preferences, indicating that the neural prosthesis can be also customized for individual users, which may play an important rule to increase the quality of brain-computer based assistance. This property not only will increase the level of perceived assistance provided by a brain-computer interface, but also may facilitate embodiment of the brain-controlled device.

Inferring subjective preferences on robot trajectories using EEG signals

Iason Batzianoulis, Aude Billard, Ricardo Andres Chavarriaga Lozano, Inaki Asier Iturrate Gil, Fumiaki Iwane

Cognitive information has been exploited in non-invasive Brain Computer Interface (BCI) scenarios to provide autonomous external agents with additional information. In this context, Error-related potentials (ErrPs), temporal deflections in electroencephalogram (EEG) signals when humans perceive erroneous actions, have been exploited to teach correct policies to agents. However, previous works have shared same objective criteria to evaluate actions of agents across humans. Therefore, it is yet an open question whether ErrPs are elicited when humans assess actions based on individual subjective criteria, and if such neuronal activities can be exploited in BCIs to enhance personalized human computer interactions. In this work, we evaluate whether ErrPs are elicited while humans assess actions based on individual subjective criteria. For this purpose, we analyze EEG signals while humans evaluate trajectories performed by the robot to avoid an obstacle. We show that the ErrP can be generated even while the human evaluates the action based on his/ her subjective criteria, and that such neuronal activity reveals subjective aspects when assessing the appropriateness of the action. These findings open the door to the exploitation of neural correlates for the personalized human computer interactions, and thus to building adaptable, individualized neuroprosthetic devices.

IEEE2019

Towards everyday brain-computer interfacing through decoding visual cognition

Ruslan Aydarkhanov

Decoding visual cognition from non-invasive measurements of brain activity has shown valuable applications. Vision-based Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) systems extend from spellers to database search and spatial navigation. Despite the high performance of these systems, they are limited to the laboratory environment. Several attempts were made to improve the quality of life of patients with severe neurodegenerative disorders by helping them acquire more independence. Bringing vision-based BCI to everyday life would benefit a wide range of population from handicapped to healthy people. However, real-life applications impose additional challenges on obtaining neural signals with a good signal-to-noise ratio. The natural environments are rich, dynamic and ambiguous that challenges the visual perception and, therefore, the decoding of underlying neural correlates. The limited attentional resources require to explore and visually sample the environment by freely moving eyes and fixating on the relevant objects. Moreover, everyday activities are rarely isolated leading to a mixture and complex interactions between neural correlates in the measured signal. In this thesis, I explore various aspects of decoding brain activity by developing new protocols for realistic scenarios with challenging visual tasks. The tasks include free visual exploration, dynamic scenes, and multiple tasks, for example, recognition of a billboard category during simulated driving. The major efforts have been directed towards synchronous decoding of Event-Related Potentials (ERP) acquired by the means of electroencephalography (EEG) and Eye-tracking technology, which allowed the extraction of Eye-Fixation Related Potentials (EFRP). Additionally, I investigate the neural correlates of perceptual decision making which is tightly linked to visual recognition. The perceptual challenges can lead to higher temporal variability of obtained ERP which was also addressed from the decoding perspective. The obtained results, firstly, provide new insights on how to tackle the temporal variability of ERP. Secondly, they raise new questions on studying and decoding neural correlates of perceptual decision making. And thirdly, they show the feasibility of decoding visual recognition in a simulated realistic scenario of car driving. Although, as expected, I found a lower performance compared to classical ERP protocols, these findings hold promise and raise new questions to be investigated in order to improve the quality of decoding visual cognition for everyday application.

EPFL2020

Analysis of Anticipation Related Potentials for Brain Computer Interaction

Gangadhar Garipelli

Anticipation is a mental process during which a person actively engages in a phase required for the sensory perception and execution of the optimal actions at the arrival of the relevant future events. Since this process occurs before the execution of an intended action, it may be used as a control signal for Brain Computer Interface (BCI) applications. Recognition of neural correlates of this process can enhance the performance of a BCI and in turn reduce mental workload of its users. To this end, it is vital to understand the neural correlates involved in this process and to design robust methods for its recognition in single trials. The analysis of these correlates may also contribute to the basic knowledge of the mechanisms underlying this behavior. The thesis provides three major contributions: (i) it reports methods for the robust recognition of anticipation related Electroencephalogram (EEG) potentials (ii) it provides insights into the selection of appropriate preprocessing steps required for enhancing the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) of anticipatory slow cortical potentials (SCPs) and (iii) it identifies scalp area specific oscillatory activity related to different aspects of anticipatory behavior. First, we focus on methods for the single trial recognition of anticipatory SCPs using the widely known classical contingent negative variation (CNV) paradigm. Using this paradigm, we demonstrate the feasibility of recognizing the anticipatory SCPs (CNV potentials) using features thatmodel its temporal pattern. We propose a Bayesian approach that exploits temporal evolution and redundancy to quickly classify (e.g., within half of the anticipatory period), without compromising classification accuracy. We then improve upon these recognition rates by using a source localization technique based on the biophysical model of the human head. We further validate the feasibility of recognizing CNV potentials in an online experiment, and report for the first time that, under controlled conditions, these potentials can be reproduced and recognized in realistic interaction scenarios (assistive technology web-browsing) with high accuracies. Second, the thesis provides insights into the selection of appropriate preprocessing stages required for improving the SNR of SCPs. The CNV potentials are characterized by low frequencies that are usually recorded with full-DC, and hence suffer from task-irrelevant high amplitude fluctuations and spatial noise. To account for this, we identified appropriate spectral and spatial filters to improve the SNR. We demonstrate the potential of these preprocessing stages by using fusing multiple electrode specific linear classifiers, which achieve recognition performances of 90±2% (area under curve of receiver operating characteristic), where the classifiers are trained using recordings from one day and tested on the recordings from several days apart. Finally, the thesis identifies different facets of anticipatory behavior. Apart from the widely known CNV potentials, it is not clear which other spectral bands could be related to anticipatory behavior. Using recordings from an experiment (i.e., the assistive technology web browser) where multiple warning stimuli predicted an imperative stimulus, we explored the phase and amplitude response of various oscillatory sub-bands for the identification of markers that could be associated with different aspects of anticipation. From this study we report that: (i) there are duration (4-10 seconds) specific changes in Electroencephalography (EEG) activity in the range 0-1 Hz in the central electrodes correlate with reaction time, (ii) there exist slow oscillations (0.1-1 Hz) in the central electrodes that exhibit phase tuning up to 4 seconds before the onset of a target cue, (iii) there are delta oscillations (1.5-3 Hz), which are entrained to predictive rhythmic warning cues, (iv) there is a selective modulation (increase or decrease) in the amplitude of occipital alpha band (8-12 Hz) based on the relevance of forthcoming visual cue, and (v) there exist a reduction in the beta band (14-30 Hz) amplitude in the sensory motor and association areas lasting up to 10 seconds. The phase tuning and entrainment resulted in a low variance of phase values at the arrival of the imperative stimulus, which may be required for its optimal processing. The amplitude modulation of alpha band activity is likely to be a resultant of sensory suppression and attention. The reduction of beta-band activity over long periods of time suggests holding of sensory-motor association areas until the execution of a planned action. We believe that these observations are the consequence of the endogenous drive on the ongoing oscillations to enhance the processing of the forthcoming stimuli and preparation for an intended action. In summary, the thesis provides methods for the recognition of anticipatory SCPs by exploiting spectral and spatio-temporal characteristics with high performances. By exploring various other oscillatory sub-bands, the spectral characteristics of different aspects of anticipatory behavior are also identified. Further, methods modeling these characteristics can bring forth more robust and faster techniques for BCI systems.

EPFL2011