Gert Pfurtscheller

Bio: Gert Pfurtscheller is an academic researcher from Graz University of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Brain–computer interface & Electroencephalography. The author has an hindex of 117, co-authored 507 publications receiving 62873 citations. Previous affiliations of Gert Pfurtscheller include University of Graz.

Brisk heart rate and EEG changes during execution and withholding of cue-paced foot motor imagery.

Abstract: Cue-paced motor imagery (MI) is a frequently used mental strategy to realize a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Recently it has been reported that two MI tasks can be separated with a high accuracy within the first second after cue presentation onset To investigate this phenomenon in detail we studied the dynamics of motor cortex beta oscillations in EEG and the changes in heart rate (HR) during visual cue-paced foot MI using a go (execution of imagery) vs nogo (withholding of imagery) paradigm in 16 healthy subjects Both execution and withholding of MI resulted in a brisk centrally localized beta event-related desynchronization (ERD) with a maximum at ~400 ms and a concomitant HR deceleration We found that response patterns within the first second after stimulation differed between conditions The ERD was significantly larger in go as compared to nogo In contrast the HR deceleration was somewhat smaller and followed by an acceleration in go as compared to nogo These findings suggest that the early beta ERD reflects visually induced preparatory activity in motor cortex networks Both the early beta ERD and the HR deceleration are the result of automatic operating processes that are likely part of the orienting reflex (OR) Of interest, however, is that the preparatory cortical activity is strengthened and the HR modulated already within the first second after stimulation during the execution of MI The subtraction of the HR time course of the nogo from the go condition revealed a slight HR acceleration in the first seconds most likely due to the increased mental effort associated with the imagery process

Discovering Patterns in EEG-Signals: Comparative Study of a Few Methods

Abstract: The objective of this paper is to draw the attention of the ML-researchers to the domain of data analysis. The issue is illustrated by an attractive case study—automatic classification of non-averaged EEG-signals. We applied several approaches and obtained best results from a combination of an ID3-like program with Bayesian learning.

Exploring virtual environments with an EEG-based BCI through motor imagery.

Abstract: In this paper, we describe the possibility of navigating in a virtual environment using the output signal of an EEG-based Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). The graphical capabilities of virtual reality (VR) should help to create new BCI-paradigms and improve feedback presentation. The objective of this combination is to enhance the subject's learning process of gaining control of the BCI. In this study, the participant had to imagine left or right hand movements while exploring a virtual conference room. By imaging a left hand movement the subject turned virtually to the left inside the room and with right hand imagery to the right. In fact, three trained subjects reached 80% to 100% BCI classification accuracy in the course of the experimental sessions. All subjects were able to achieve a rotation in the VR to the left or right by approximately 45 degrees during one trial.

The Design and Analysis of Experiments

Abstract: THE DESIGN AND ANALYSIS OF EXPERIMENTS. By Oscar Kempthorne. New York, John Wiley and Sons, Inc., 1952. 631 pp. $8.50. This book by a teacher of statistics (as well as a consultant for \"experimenters\") is a comprehensive study of the philosophical background for the statistical design of experiment. It is necessary to have some facility with algebraic notation and manipulation to be able to use the volume intelligently. The problems are presented from the theoretical point of view, without such practical examples as would be helpful for those not acquainted with mathematics. The mathematical justification for the techniques is given. As a somewhat advanced treatment of the design and analysis of experiments, this volume will be interesting and helpful for many who approach statistics theoretically as well as practically. With emphasis on the \"why,\" and with description given broadly, the author relates the subject matter to the general theory of statistics and to the general problem of experimental inference. MARGARET J. ROBERTSON

Principles of Neural Science

Abstract: I have developed "tennis elbow" from lugging this book around the past four weeks, but it is worth the pain, the effort, and the aspirin. It is also worth the (relatively speaking) bargain price. Including appendixes, this book contains 894 pages of text. The entire panorama of the neural sciences is surveyed and examined, and it is comprehensive in its scope, from genomes to social behaviors. The editors explicitly state that the book is designed as "an introductory text for students of biology, behavior, and medicine," but it is hard to imagine any audience, interested in any fragment of neuroscience at any level of sophistication, that would not enjoy this book. The editors have done a masterful job of weaving together the biologic, the behavioral, and the clinical sciences into a single tapestry in which everyone from the molecular biologist to the practicing psychiatrist can find and appreciate his or