Brain-machine interface control using broadband spectral power from local field potentials

Recent progress in brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) has shown tremendous improvements in task complexity and degree of control. In particular, closed-loop decoder adaptation (CLDA) has emerged as an effective paradigm for both improving and maintaining the performance of BMI systems. Here, we demonstrate the first reported use of a CLDA algorithm to rapidly achieve high-performance control of a BMI based on local field potentials (LFPs). We trained a non-human primate to control a 2-D computer cursor by modulating LFP activity to perform a center-out reaching task, while applying CLDA to adaptively update the decoder. We show that the subject is quickly able to readily reach and hold at all 8 targets with an average success rate of 74% ± 7% (sustained peak rate of 85%), with rapid convergence in the decoder parameters. Moreover, the subject is able to maintain high performance across 4 days with minimal adaptations to the decoder. Our results indicate that CLDA can be used to facilitate LFP-based BMI systems, allowing for both rapid improvement and maintenance of performance.