Neural Internet is a new technological advancement in brain-computer interface research, which enables locked-in patients to operate a Web browser directly with their brain potentials. Neural Internet was successfully tested with a locked-in patient diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis rendering him the first paralyzed person to surf the Internet solely by regulating his electrical brain activity. The functioning of Neural Internet and its clinical implications for motor-impaired patients are highlighted.
Plum F, Posner JB.The diagnosis of stupor and coma. Philadelphia: FA Davis; 1966.
2.
Feldman MH.Physiological observations in a chronic case of “locked-in” syndrome. Neurology1971;21: 459-478.
3.
Nordgren RE, Markesbery WR, Fukuda K, et al.Seven cases of cerebromedullospinal disconnection: the “locked-in” syndrome. Neurology1971;21: 1140-1148.
4.
Bauer G, Gerstenbrand F, Rumpl E.Variables of the locked-in syndrome. J Neurol1979;221: 77-91.
5.
Strong MJ, Grace GM, Orange JB, et al.A prospective study of cognitive impairment in ALS. Neurology1999;53: 1665-1670.
6.
Maasmann PJ, Sims J, Cooke N, et al.Prevalence and correlates of neuropsychological deficits in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry1996;61: 450-455.
7.
Bauby J-D.The diving bell and the butterfly. New York:Knopf; 1997.
8.
McDonald ER, Hillel A, Wiedenfeld SA.Evaluation of the psychological status of ventilatory-supported patients with ALS/MND. Palliat Med1996;10: 35-41.
9.
Bascom PB, Tolle SW.Responding to requests for physician-assisted suicide. J Am Med Assoc2002;288: 91-98.
10.
Kübler A, Winter S, Ludolph AC, et al.Severity of depressive symptoms and quality of life in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Neurorehabil Neural Repair2005;19: 182-193.
11.
Bach JR.Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis—communication status and survival with ventilatory support. Am J Phys Med Rehabil1993;72: 343-349.
12.
Birbaumer N, Ghanayim N, Hinterberger T, et al.A spelling device for the paralysed. Nature1999;398: 297-298.
13.
Kübler A, Neumann N, Kaiser J, et al.Brain-computer communication: self-regulation of slow cortical potentials for verbal communication. Arch Phys Med Rehabil2001;82: 1533-1539.
14.
Wolpaw JR, McFarland DJ.Control of a two-dimensional movement signal by a noninvasive brain-computer interface in humans. PNAS2004;101: 17849-17854.
15.
Donchin E, Spencer KM, Wijesinghe R.The mental prosthesis: assessing the speed of a P300-based brain-computer interface. IEEE Trans Rehabil Eng2000;8: 174-179.
16.
Serruya MD, Hatsopoulos NG, Paminski L, et al.Instant neural control of a movement signal. Nature2002;416: 141-142.
17.
Carmena JM, Lebedev MA, Crist RE, et al.Learning to control a brain-machine interface for reaching and grasping by primates. PLoS Biol2003;1: E42-E42.
18.
Taylor DA, Helms Tillery SI, Schwartz AB.Direct cortical control of 3D neuroprosthetic devices. Science2002;296: 1829-1832.
19.
Lal TN, Hinterberger T, Widman G, et al.Methods towards invasive human brain computer interfaces. Proc 18th Annual Conf Neural Information Processing Syst, NIPS, Vancouver, 2004.
20.
Leuthardt EC, Schalk G, Wolpaw JR, et al.A brain-computer interface using electrocorticographic signals in humans. J Neural Eng2004;1: 63-71.
21.
Pesaran B, Pezaris JS, Sahani MS, et al.Temporal structure in neuronal activity during working memory in macaque parietal cortex. Nat Neurosci2002;5: 805-811.
22.
Kennedy P, Bakay RAE, Moore MM, et al.Direct control of a computer from the human central nervous system. IEEE Trans Rehabil Eng2000;8: 198-202.
23.
Kennedy PR, Kirby MT, Moore MM, et al.Computer control using human intracortical local field potentials. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng2004;12: 339-344.
24.
Sitaram R, Guan C, Zhang H, et al.A novel brain-computer interface using multi-channel near infrared spectroscopy. NeuroImage2006;31(Suppl. 1): 96-96.
25.
Sitaram R, Guan C, Zhang H, et al.A novel brain-computer interface using multi-channel near infrared spectroscopy. Submitted.
26.
Hinterberger T, Kübler A, Kaiser J, et al.A brain-computer interface (BCI) for the locked-in: comparison of different EEG classifications for the thought translation device. Clin Neurophysiol2003;114: 416-425.
27.
Kübler A, Kotchoubey B, Hinterberger T, et al.The Thought Translation Device: a neurophysiological approach to communication in total motor paralysis. Exp Brain Res1999;124: 223-232.
28.
Kübler A, Kotchoubey B, Kaiser J, et al.Brain-computer communication: unlocking the locked-in. Psychol Bull2001;127: 358-375.
29.
Neumann N, Kübler A, Kaiser J, et al.Conscious perception of brain states: mental strategies for brain-computer communication. Neuropsychologia2003;41: 1028-1036.
30.
Birbaumer N, Elbert T, Canavan AGM, et al.Slow potentials of the cerebral cortex and behavior. Physiol Rev1990;70: 1-41.
31.
Perelmouter J, Birbaumer N.A binary spelling interface with random errors. IEEE Trans Biomed Eng2000;8: 227-232.
32.
Perelmouter J, Kotchoubey B, Kübler A, et al.Language support program for thought-translation-devices. Automedica1999;18: 67-84.
33.
Mellinger J, Hinterberger T, Bensch M, et al.Surfing the Web with electrical brain signals: the Brain Web Surfer (BWS) for the completely paralysed. Proc 2nd World Cong Int Soc Phys Rehabil Med, ISPRM, Prague, 2003.
34.
Wolpaw JR, McFarland DJ, Vaughn TM, et al.The Wadsworth Center brain-computer interface (BCI) research and development program. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng2003;11: 204-207.
35.
Nijboer F, Mellinger J, Mautz T, et al.Brain-computer interface (BCI) use with mu rhythm, slow cortical potentials and P300 by patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a within subject comparison. Psychophysiology2005;42: 29-29.
