Neural signatures of humans' movement intention can be
exploited by future neuroprosthesis. We propose a method
for detecting self-paced upper limb movement intention
from brain signals acquired with both invasive and
noninvasive methods. In the first study with scalp
electroencephalograph (EEG) signals from healthy
controls, we report single trial detection of movement
intention using movement related potentials (MRPs) in a
frequency range between 0.1 to 1 Hz. Movement intention
can be detected above chance level (p<0.05) on average
460 ms before the movement onset with low detection rate
during the on-movement intention period. Using
intracranial EEG (iEEG) from one epileptic subject, we
detect movement intention as early as 1500 ms before
movement onset with accuracy above 90% using electrodes
implanted in the bilateral supplementary motor area
(SMA). The coherent results obtained with non-invasive
and invasive method and its generalization capabilities
across different days of recording, strengthened the
theory that self-paced movement intention can be detected
before movement initiation for the advancement in
robot-assisted neurorehabilitation.