Poletti Barbara, Carelli Laura, Solca Federica, Lafronza Annalisa, Pedroli Elisa, Faini Andrea, Zago Stefano, Ticozzi Nicola, Meriggi Paolo, Cipresso Pietro, Lulé Dorothée, Ludolph Albert C, Riva Giuseppe, Silani Vincenzo
a Department of Neurology and Laboratory of Neuroscience - IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan , Italy.
b Applied Technology for Neuro-Psychology Lab, IRCCS Istituto Auxologico Italiano , Milan , Italy.
Amyotroph Lateral Scler Frontotemporal Degener. 2016 Oct-Nov;17(7-8):473-481. doi: 10.1080/21678421.2016.1181182. Epub 2016 May 12.
To investigate the use of P300-based Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology for the administration of motor-verbal free cognitive tests in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).
We recruited 15 ALS patients and 15 age- and education-matched healthy subjects. All participants underwent a BCI-based neuropsychological assessment, together with two standard cognitive screening tools (FAB, MoCA), two psychological questionnaires (BDI, STAI-Y) and a usability questionnaire. For patients, clinical and respiratory examinations were also performed, together with a behavioural assessment (FBI).
Correlations were observed between standard cognitive and BCI-based neuropsychological assessment, mainly concerning execution times in the ALS group. Moreover, patients provided positive rates concerning the BCI perceived usability and subjective experience. Finally, execution times at the BCI-based neuropsychological assessment were useful to discriminate patients from controls, with patients achieving lower processing speed than controls regarding executive functions.
The developed motor-verbal free neuropsychological battery represents an innovative approach, that could provide relevant information for clinical practice and ethical issues. Its use for cognitive evaluation throughout the course of ALS, currently not available by means of standard assessment, must be addressed in further longitudinal validation studies. Further work will be aimed at refining the developed system and enlarging the cognitive spectrum investigated.
研究基于P300的脑机接口（BCI）技术在肌萎缩侧索硬化症（ALS）运动-言语自由认知测试管理中的应用。
我们招募了15名ALS患者和15名年龄及教育程度匹配的健康受试者。所有参与者都接受了基于BCI的神经心理学评估，以及两种标准认知筛查工具（FAB、MoCA）、两份心理问卷（BDI、STAI-Y）和一份可用性问卷。对于患者，还进行了临床和呼吸检查，以及行为评估（FBI）。
在标准认知和基于BCI的神经心理学评估之间观察到相关性，主要涉及ALS组的执行时间。此外，患者对BCI感知可用性和主观体验的阳性率较高。最后，基于BCI的神经心理学评估中的执行时间有助于区分患者和对照组，在执行功能方面，患者的处理速度低于对照组。
所开发的运动-言语自由神经心理成套测试代表了一种创新方法，可为临床实践和伦理问题提供相关信息。目前通过标准评估无法获得其在ALS病程中用于认知评估的情况，必须在进一步的纵向验证研究中加以解决。未来的工作将旨在完善所开发的系统并扩大所研究的认知范围。
