Fast-muscle contraction as a proxy to embodiment and BCI control in tetraplegia: an EEG study in immersive virtual reality

Embodiment with an avatar perceived in first-person (1PP) perspective is crucial in eliciting Medial-Frontal Theta activity contingent upon detection of the avatar's action errors. In the present study we devised a new paradigm for inducing embodiment and neurophysiological correlates of error detection in profoundly de-afferented/de-efferented patients. The paradigm consisted in asking the patient to perform a fast and rapid contraction of a residual muscle (monitored through ElectroMiografic-EMG burst activation ) to activate a cascade of events ultimately ending in increased sense of agency and ownership of the acting virtual arm.