EEG-based neglect assessment: A feasibility study

Publication date: Available online 31 March 2018
Source:Journal of Neuroscience Methods
Author(s): Aya Khalaf, Jessica Kersey, Safaa Eldeeb, Gazihan Alankus, Emily Grattan, Laura Waterstram, Elizabeth Skidmore, Murat Akcakaya
BackgroundSpatial neglect (SN) is a neuropsychological syndrome that impairs automatic attention orienting to stimuli in the contralesional visual space of stroke patients. SN is commonly assessed using paper and pencil tests. Recently, computerized tests have been proposed to provide a dynamic assessment of SN. However, both paper- and computer-based methods have limitations.New methodElectroencephalography (EEG) shows promise for overcoming the limitations of current assessment methods The aim of this work is to introduce an objective passive BCI system that records EEG signals in response to visual stimuli appearing in random locations on a screen with a dynamically changing background. Our preliminary experimental studies focused on validating the system using healthy participants with intact brains rather than employing it initially in more complex environments with patients having cortical lesions. Therefore, we designed a version of the test in which we simulated SN by hiding target stimuli appearing on the left side of the screen so that the subject's attention is shifted to the right side.ResultsResults showed that there are statistically significant differences between EEG responses due to right and left side stimuli reflecting different processing and attention levels towards both sides of the screen. The system achieved average accuracy, sensitivity and specificity of 74.24%, 75.17% and 71.36% respectively.Comparison with existing methodsThe proposed test can examine both presence and severity of SN, unlike traditional paper and pencil tests and computer-based methods.ConclusionsThe proposed test is a promising objective SN evaluation method.



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