Highlights: Training in mindfulness meditation (MM) improves ability to control a BCI device.  Equivalent expectations for improvement are elicited by MM and music training.  BCI performance is better after MM rather than music training.  Expectations cannot explain the effect of MM on BCI performance.

No abstract

Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) systems is a direct communication pathway between the brain and an external device. BCI systems enable patients with severe neuromuscular disorders to use their brain signal to communicate with others. BCI users need to maintain stable mental states to achieve a higher accuracy rate, while distraction and frustration will degrade the performance. Research had found that long-term mindfulness meditation practice can help increase regulate the mental state, and thus enhance the efficacy of BCI performance. A previous study showed that a 12-week mindfulness meditation practice programme improved BCI performance. However, long-term meditation course require extensive time and financial commitment. Thus the current study examines whether a short-term 4-week mindfulness meditation practice programme will promote a similar improvement in BCI performance. Undergraduate students were recruited for the study. BCI performance test been carry out before and after the intervention period to compare the changes. Preliminary results showed that all meditation subjects had improved their accuracy in BCI performance test after the 4-week meditation practice. 

Variability in user performance has been a crucial hurdle that prevents the adoption of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), but the factors that led to the variations were unclear. This study investigates the effect of age on the strength of steady-state visual evoked potentials (SSVEPs) – an important attribute that determines the BCI performance. Ninety-three subjects ranging from six to 78 years old were recruited for the study, and each of them was tested for their SSVEPs in response to flickering lights of five different frequencies presented at random sequences. The results showed that there is a significant correlation between the strength of SSVEP and user age, with weaker SSVEP response registered in older subjects at all stimulation frequencies tested. Further inter-group comparisons indicated that older subjects tended to show more attenuated SSVEP response compared to the younger and the middle-aged subjects, while there is no significant difference in the SSVEP amplitude between the subjects from the younger and the middle-age groups. The SSVEP response was stronger when elicited using light-emitting diode (LED) compared to liquid crystal display (LCD) stimulators. These findings suggest that age as an important factor in BCI performance, and learning about the age-associated changes could provide additional insight into adapting the BCI system to individual users.