Cognitive and Motor Control Based on Brain-Computer Interfaces for Improving the Health and Well-Being in Older Age

All people experience aging and the related physical and health changes, including changes in memory and brain function. These changes may become debilitating leading to an increase in dependence as people get older. Many external engineering tools and neuroscience aspects have been used to allow older adults and elderly patients to continue to live normal and comfortable lives. Cognitive and motor control based on invasive and noninvasive Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) are emerging technologies that promise opportunities for improving health and well-being in older age. These external aids and neurofeedback tests have been shown to be useful to older people, healthcare professionals, caretakers, and family members. However, despite progress in the field of BCI, there is still a lack of the development of hardware and software solutions for home-based BCI applications that can be used by healthy older adults and elderly patients with minimal technical oversight. In addition, user-friendly, wearable, portable, and wireless BCI applications and more neuroscience studies are important to answer the question of how BCI applications can improve the quality of life in elderly people.

This Research Topic aims to present rigorous neuroscientific studies and engineering applications based on advanced bio-signal processing methods and decoding algorithms that enrich the effect of aging on the human brain and the mutual interplay between senior citizens and machines. The aim is to provide assistance in both cognitive and physical support and rehabilitation. Welcome contributions will focus on brain mechanisms, neurofeedback, and computing aspects as well as practical communication or control applications for neural prostheses, smart home, wheelchair, and exoskeleton technologies. Particular attention will be given to emphasis on clinical and non-clinical applications for the elderly to assist them in their daily life activities or enhance, restore, and improve the effects of many age-related changes.

Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:
• Assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative BCI for health and well-being in older age
• Cognitive and motor control
• Multidimensional BCIs and multifunctional hybrid BCIs
• Mental states’ detection in the elderly for psychological well-being
• Memory and thinking ability in the elderly
• Brain activations related to healthy and non-healthy elderly
• Advanced algorithms for assisted healthy living
• BCIs on track to home
• Medical BCI-based gaming applications and neurofeedback

Topic Editor Christoph Guger is the CEO and co-founder of Guger Technologies. All other topic editors declare no competing interests with regards to the Research Topic subject