A 20-minute guided mindfulness meditation session does not significantly improve control of a sensorimotor rhythm-based brain-computer interface. Thirty-seven subjects performed cursor control tasks before and after either a meditation exercise or a control condition of listening to a journal article. No significant change in BCI performance or EEG control signal occurred in either group, and the difference between groups was not significant. The findings suggest that longer meditation practice is needed to enhance SMR-based BCI control.
Meditators outperformed non-meditators in brain-computer interface (BCI) cursor control tasks using motor imagery. Experienced meditators showed better performance in both 1-dimensional and 2-dimensional tasks, and fewer meditators were unable to generate decodable EEG signals. Meditators also had higher sensorimotor rhythm (SMR) predictor values and were better able to produce decodable EEG signals for SMR-based BCI control, suggesting meditation training may improve BCI performance.
Experienced meditators outperformed meditation-naïve subjects in one-dimensional and two-dimensional cursor control tasks using a sensorimotor rhythm-based brain–computer interface. Fewer meditators were classified as BCI inefficient. Meditators also showed a higher resting SMR predictor, more stable resting mu rhythm, and larger control signal contrast during the task, suggesting that meditation training may enhance BCI performance.