The movement-related cortical potential (MRCP) is a low-frequency negative shift in the electroencephalography (EEG) recording that takes place about 2 seconds prior to voluntary movement production. MRCP replicates the cortical processes employed in planning and preparation of movement. In this study, we recapitulate the features such as signal's acquisition, processing, and enhancement and different electrode montages used for EEG data recoding from different studies that used MRCPs to predict the upcoming real or imaginary movement. An authentic identification of human movement intention, accompanying the knowledge of the limb engaged in the performance and its direction of movement, has a potential implication in the control of external devices. This information could be helpful in development of a proficient patient-driven rehabilitation tool based on brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Such a BCI paradigm with shorter response time appears more natural to the amputees and can also induce plasticity in brain. Along with different training schedules, this can lead to restoration of motor control in stroke patients.

Neural oscillations are vital for the functioning of a central nervous system because they assist in brain communication across a huge network of neurons. Alpha frequency oscillations are believed to depict idling or inhibition of task-irrelevant cortical activities. However, recent studies on alpha oscillations (particularly alpha phase) hypothesize that they have an active and direct role in the mechanisms of attention and working memory. To understand the role of alpha oscillations in several cognitive processes, accurate estimations of phase, amplitude, and frequency are required. Herein, we propose an approach for time-series forward prediction by comparing an autoregressive (AR) model and an adaptive method (least mean square (LMS)-based AR model). This study tested both methods for two prediction lengths of data. Our results indicate that for shorter data segments (prediction of 128 ms), the AR model outperforms the LMS-based AR model, while for longer prediction lengths (256 ms), the LMS- based AR model surpasses the AR model. LMS with low computational cost can aid in electroencephalography (EEG) phase prediction (alpha oscillations) in basic research to reveal the functional role of the oscillatory phase as well as for applications for brain-computer interfaces.

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It is a technically challenging problem to assess the instantaneous brain state using electroencephalography (EEG) in a real-time closed-loop setup because the prediction of future signals is required to define the current state, such as the instantaneous phase and amplitude. To accomplish this in real-time, a conventional Yule–Walker (YW)-based autoregressive (AR) model has been used. However, the brain state-dependent real-time implementation of a closed-loop system employing an adaptive method has not yet been explored. Our primary purpose was to investigate whether time-series forward prediction using an adaptive least mean square (LMS)-based AR model would be implementable in a real-time closed-loop system or not. EEG state-dependent triggers synchronized with the EEG peaks and troughs of alpha oscillations in both an open-eyes resting state and a visual task. For the resting and visual conditions, statistical results showed that the proposed method succeeded in giving triggers at a specific phase of EEG oscillations for all participants. These individual results showed that the LMS-based AR model was successfully implemented in a real-time closed-loop system targeting specific phases of alpha oscillations and can be used as an adaptive alternative to the conventional and machine-learning approaches with a low computational load.