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.

Brain death and bioelectrical brain activity

Abstract: The effect of mechanical vibration and light stimulation on the ongoing and evoked bioelectrical activity was studied in two cases with clinically defined brain death and two other patients with severe head injury, one of them with an isoelectric EEG. The importance of such stimulation sequences for the definition of brain death is discussed, with particular emphasis on mechanical vibration.

Ereignisbezogene Negativierung und Alphaband-Desynchronisation bei motorischen Reaktionen

Abstract: The foreperiod of a motor reaction to an impending stimulus is accompanied by a slow negative wave of the event-related potential, the "contingent negative variation" (CNV), when the imperative stimulus follows at a fixed interval to a warning stimulus. Using similar experimental paradigms, an event-related desynchronization (ERD) in the alpha range occurs indicating cortical activation before and during motor acts. Both EEG-parameters were quantified for four subjects using the following experimental design: One second after a non-informative warning signal (WS) a cue was presented that indicated by which hand the subject had to respond quickly after presentation of a reaction stimulus (RS); subjects were requested to respond by pressing a button with their left or right thumb. EEG-signals were recorded unipolarly from 17 electrodes. Average ERPs and ERD were computed for all electrode sites for trials with left and right hand movements, respectively, and topographically displayed in simultaneous amplitude and ERD-maps. CNV and ERD could be observed simultaneously over similar brain regions, namely central over the motor cortex, frontal with possible location over the supplementary motor area (SMA) and also covering the parietal region. While the CNV had a interindividually different and wide distribution, the ERD calculated for the upper alpha band mapped focally over the electrode sites C3 and C4 overlaying primary sensorimotor structures, with a contralateral dominance. In contrast to the negativity which is terminated following delivery of the response stimulus, the ERD persisted during the motor reaction showing a similar pattern some hundreds of milliseconds before and after movement onset.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Functional electrical stimulation instead of surgery? Improvement of grasping function with FES in a patient with C5 tetraplegia]

Abstract: The aim of this study was to restore the grasp function of a tetraplegic patient with a C5 spinal cord injury (SCI) by means of functional electrical stimulation (FES) Using three pairs of surface electrodes and orthotic wrist stabilisation a simple palmar grasp was realised The FES was controlled with a switch mounted on a wheelchair or-for the first time-with an EEG-based brain-computer interface (BCI) Application of this stimulation system enabled the patient to drink for the first time after the accident from a glass without any additional help

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