Classification of spatio-temporal EEG readiness potentials towards the development of a brain-computer interface

The existence of characteristic changes in the EEG of a subject preparing for the execution of a voluntary movement is reviewed. Some of those changes, i.e., the "readiness potentials" (RPs), are suggested as a possible link between the internal processes associated with different forms of motion preparation and a digital signal processing system designed to classify the different intended movements. Such a system can potentially be used to provide input to a specialized graphic user interface, constituting a brain-computer interface (BCI). Our current work on neural-network classification of RPs is summarized and the results are presented.