Rehabilitation based on brain-computer interface for aphasic patients: A systematic review

Aphasia is the disturbance of language production and/or comprehension. From 25 to 40 percent of patients with stroke manifest aphasia. Although many rehabilitation techniques are known, a large percentage of these patients do not recover language function. In this systematic review we analyze the role of a new technique that encodes neuronal impulses and transforms them into language, Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). Through a systematic search, 7 articles considering BCI as a rehabilitation technique on 33 aphasic patients were found. Three methods were used in these studies: neurofeedback, visual P300 and auditory P300. Our results show that these three techniques are viable therapeutic alternatives to traditional speech exercises. In particular, auditory P300 was shown to be statistically superior to visual P300 in the recovery of aphasic patients.