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arXiv · 2507.00305

EEG-Based Auditory BCI for Communication in a Completely Locked-In Patient Using Volitional Frequency Band Modulation

Deland Liu·Frigyes Samuel Racz·Zoe Lalji·Jose del R. Millan
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Abstract

Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the completely locked-in state (CLIS) can lose all reliable motor control and are left without any means of communication. It remains unknown whether non-invasive electroencephalogram (EEG) based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) can support volitional communication in CLIS. Here, we show that a CLIS patient was able to operate an EEG-based BCI across multiple online sessions to respond to both general knowledge and personally relevant assistive questions. The patient delivered "Yes"/"No" responses by volitionally modulating alpha and beta band power at different channels, guided by real-time auditory feedback from the BCI. The patient communicated assistive needs above chance in all sessions, achieving a perfect score in the final session. Performance on general knowledge questions varied across sessions, with two sessions showing accurate and above-chance responses, while the first and last sessions remained at chance level. The patient also showed consistent modulation patterns over time. These findings suggest that non-invasive BCIs may offer a potential pathway for restoring basic communication in CLIS.

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Deland Liu, Frigyes Samuel Racz, Zoe Lalji, Jose del R. Millan. 2025-06-30. EEG-Based Auditory BCI for Communication in a Completely Locked-In Patient Using Volitional Frequency Band Modulation. https://arxiv.org/abs/2507.00305

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