Characteristics of P- rhythm frequency modulation under imaginary movements

The aim of the paper is to assess the phenomena of EEG frequency modulation while performing real and imaginary movements necessary for BCI control. Materials and Methods. The study enrolled a group of 30 volunteers of both sexes, aged 17 to 23. The subjects had to execute four commands and to run them randomly following the program instruction. The experiment was carried out in two ways: physically and mentally. Firstly, each command corresponded to a certain subject's movement. Secondly, the same commands were not performed, they were only imaginary. The command was considered successfully executed if a volunteer was able to follow the program instruction and to hold the position for 2 seconds. Results. Correlation analysis and exploratory statistics (namely, correspondence analysis and cluster analysis) were used to process the generated electroencephalographic parameters. The actually performed subjects' movements were associated with a high number of low-frequency modulations in the 12-20 Hz range in the absence of modulating influences in the range below 12 Hz. Pronounced patterns of high-frequency modulation were peculiar for unexecuted commands. Conclusion. The results of the correlation analysis demonstrate a positive relationship between the number of cases of high-frequency modulation in the range of 9-12 Hz with the number of cases of low-frequency modulation in all other studied signal ranges in case of successful command execution.