Learning to control brain activity pattern using real-time functional MRI: A feasibility study

• Project/Area Number: 26350993
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Brain biometrics
• Research Institution: Nagoya University
• Principal Investigator: Bagarinao Epifanio 名古屋大学, 脳とこころの研究センター, 特任准教授 (00443218)
• Co-Investigator(Renkei-kenkyūsha): ISODA Haruo 名古屋大学, 脳とこころの研究センター, 教授 (40223060)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2016)
• Budget Amount: ¥4,810,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥1,110,000); Fiscal Year 2016: ¥650,000 (Direct Cost: ¥500,000、Indirect Cost: ¥150,000); Fiscal Year 2015: ¥2,340,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥540,000); Fiscal Year 2014: ¥1,820,000 (Direct Cost: ¥1,400,000、Indirect Cost: ¥420,000)
• Keywords: real-time functional MRI / neurofeedback / support vector machine / brain machine interface / machine learning

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, a real-time fMRI-based brain state decoder system to identify different brain states, viewed as brain activity pattern, was developed and used to investigate whether participants can control their brain activity pattern to match a pre-determined target pattern using neurofeedback. The system attained an overall processing time that was faster than the image acquisition time set at 2s. Using support vector machines, brain states associated with three tasks (imagined tapping, word generation, and serial subtraction tasks) were successfully reproduced as evidenced by the consistently high mean classification accuracy of greater than 80% during feedback scans.

Research Products

• [Presentation] Development of a Brain Machine Interface Using a Neurofeedback fMRI System - A Small Humanoid Represents Imagery Movements - (2017)
  • Author(s): Akihiro Yoshida, Epifanio Bagarinao, Mika Ueno, Haruo Isoda, Kazunori Terabe, Shohei Kato, Toshiharu Nakai
  • Organizer: 1st Annual Scientific Meeting of the ISMRM Japanese Chapter
  • Place of Presentation: Osaka, Japan
  • Year and Date: 2017-02-23
• [Presentation] Real-time fMRI を使用した小型ヒューマノイド Neurofeedback システムの構築 (2016)
  • Author(s): 吉田旭宏, エピファニオ バガリナオ, 上野美果, 寺部和紀, 加藤昇平, 礒田治夫, 中井敏晴
  • Organizer: 平成２８年度日本生体医工学会東海支部学術集会
  • Place of Presentation: 名古屋市、愛知県
• [Presentation] Real-time functional MRI (2016)
  • Author(s): Epifanio Bagarinao
  • Organizer: Lecture presented at Tri-Service General Hospital
  • Place of Presentation: Taipei, Taiwan
  • Invited
• [Presentation] Building an Activation Map Driven Operation System for a Small Humanoid Using Real-time fMRI - An Initial Report - (2016)
  • Author(s): Akihiro Yoshida, Epifanio Bagarinao, Mika Ueno, Kazunori Terabe, Shohei Kato, Haruo Isoda, Toshiharu Nakai
  • Organizer: BrainConnects 2016
  • Place of Presentation: Taichung, Taiwan
  • Year and Date: 2016-09-22
• [Presentation] EEG-fMRI同時計測による意味記憶課題中のサブセカンドレベルでの連続的な脳活動の検出 (2016)
  • Author(s): Kengo Mizuno, Epifanio Bagarinao, Satoshi Maesawa, Saea Tohira, Hirohisa Watanabe, Toshiharu Nakai, and Haruo Isoda
  • Organizer: 44th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine
  • Place of Presentation: Saitama, Japan
  • Year and Date: 2016-09-09
• [Presentation] Sub-second activation dynamics of the oddball task: A simultaneous EEG-fMRI study (2016)
  • Author(s): E. Bagarinao, K. Mizuno, S. Maesawa, H. Watanabe, S. Tohira, T. Nakai, and H. Isoda
  • Organizer: 39th Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society
  • Place of Presentation: Yokohama, Japan
  • Year and Date: 2016-07-20
• [Presentation] Detecting subsecond activation changes during interictal epileptic spike using simultaneous EEG-fMRI (2016)
  • Author(s): Epifanio Bagarinao, Satoshi Maesawa, Yuji Ito, Hirohisa Watanabe, and Haruo Isoda
  • Organizer: 22nd Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping
  • Place of Presentation: Geneva, Switzerland
  • Year and Date: 2016-06-26
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Sequential activation in sub-second range during working memory task: A simultaneous EEG-fMRI study (2016)
  • Author(s): Kengo Mizuno, Epifanio Bagarinao, Satoshi Maesawa, Saea Tohira, Hirohisa Watanabe, Toshiharu Nakai, and Haruo Isoda
  • Organizer: 22nd Annual Meeting of the Organization for Human Brain Mapping
  • Place of Presentation: Geneva, Switzerland
  • Year and Date: 2016-06-26
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Detecting activation patterns from functional MRI datasets with undetermined event onsets using support vector machines (2015)
  • Author(s): E. Bagarinao, S. Maesawa, H. Watanabe, H. Isoda
  • Organizer: 45th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience (Neuroscience 2015)
  • Place of Presentation: Chicago, IL, USA
  • Year and Date: 2015-10-17
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Applications of support vector machines in neuroimaging studies: Identifying imaging biomarkers and real-time brain state decoding (2015)
  • Author(s): E. Bagarinao
  • Organizer: BrainConnects 2015
  • Place of Presentation: Nagoya, Aichi, Japan
  • Year and Date: 2015-07-31
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Presentation] Real-time classification of brain activation patterns using support vector machine and its potential application as a tool for cognitive training (2015)
  • Author(s): E. Bagarinao, S. Maesawa, H. Watanabe, D. Mori, T. Nakai, H. Isoda, and G. Sobue
  • Organizer: 38th Annual Meeting of the Japan Neuroscience Society
  • Place of Presentation: Kobe, Japan
  • Year and Date: 2015-07-28
• [Presentation] Implementation of a real-time functional-MRI-based brain state decoder system and its potential application as a brain machine interface (2015)
  • Author(s): E. Bagarinao, S. Maesawa, H. Watanabe, D. Mori, T. Nakai, H. Isoda and G. Sobue
  • Organizer: The 54th Annual Conference of the Japanese Society for Medical and Biological Engineering
  • Place of Presentation: Nagoya City, Aichi
  • Year and Date: 2015-05-07 – 2015-05-09
• [Presentation] Building prediction models for resting state networks using support vector machines for regression (2014)
  • Author(s): E. Bagarinao, S. Maesawa, M. Fujii, D. Mori, H. Watanabe, T. Wakabayashi, H. Isoda, G. Sobue
  • Organizer: 44th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience
  • Place of Presentation: Washington, DC, USA
  • Year and Date: 2014-11-15 – 2014-11-19