Research On Using Neurofeedback To Improve Attention And Skills Of SSVEP Brain-Computer Interface

Attention is the foundation of all human behaviors and emotions.However,we know little about the physiological basis and regulation method of attention due to the complexity of the nervous system.In the past 20 years,neural engineering has made unprecedented progress in the interpretation of brain information and neuromodulation.The purpose of this study is to explore the network model of attention and propose a method to improve attention by means of neural engineering.Moreover,the regulation method could enhance the using skills of brain-computer interface(BCI)based on steady-state visual evoked potential(SSVEP).In this study,a high attention-required rapid sequence visual presentation(RSVP)task was designed.In the experiment,the data of different attention levels were obtained by controlling the task difficulty.The results showed that the prefrontal,parietal and occipital lobes formed a joint processing system in visual tasks.In this system,the parietal lobe plays a central role,and alpha oscillation is involved in the modulation process of attention.Furthermore,the power of the alpha band increases with the degree of attention.In the research,up-regulating parietal alpha-amplitude using neurofeedback training(NFT)significantly improves the SSVEP-based BCI performance through modulating the control network.Specifically,the signal-to-noise ratio(SNR),accuracy,and information transfer rate(ITR)were increased by 5.8%,4.7%,and 15.6%respectively.However,no improvement has been observed in the control group.What's more,a general reinforcement of the information flow from the parietal lobe to the occipital lobe was also observed.Evidence from the network analysis and attention test further indicate that NFT improves attention via developing the control ability of the parietal lobe and then enhances the above SSVEP indicators.The study validates an effective neuromodulation method,and possibly also contributes to explaining the function of the parietal lobe in the control network.This paper takes the relationship between attention and performance as the theme,and makes a systematic study combining theoretical exploration and engineering application.