Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40830488›Full record

ArticleJournal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation2025

Don't put words in my mouth: speech perception can falsely activate a brain-computer interface.

Anouck Schippers, Mariska J Vansteensel, Zac V Freudenburg, Shiyu Luo, Nathan E Crone, Nick F Ramsey

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Premotor cortex uses a compositional neural geometry to plan words.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Anouck SchippersDepartment of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Heidelberglaan 100, Utrecht, 3584 CX, The Netherlands.
Mariska J VansteenselDepartment of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Heidelberglaan 100, Utrecht, 3584 CX, The Netherlands.
Zac V FreudenburgDepartment of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Heidelberglaan 100, Utrecht, 3584 CX, The Netherlands.
Shiyu LuoDepartment of Biomedical Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Nathan E CroneDepartment of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA.
Nick F RamseyDepartment of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Utrecht Brain Center, Heidelberglaan 100, Utrecht, 3584 CX, The Netherlands. n.f.ramsey@umcutrecht.nl.

Funding

Investigation of the Cortical Communication (CORTICOM) SystemUH3NS114439 · NINDS · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · PI CRONE, NATHAN E, RAMSEY, NICOLAS FRANCISCUS · 2020 to 2025
$6.6M
Brain-Computer Interface Implant for Severe Communication DisabilityU01DC016686 · NIDCD · UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER UTRECHT · PI CRONE, NATHAN E, RAMSEY, NICOLAS FRANCISCUS · 2018 to 2021
$2.5M
Dutch Brain Foundation PPS-2021-02European Research Council ERC-Advanced 'iConnect' project, grant ADV 320708HORIZON EUROPE European Innovation Council 101070939Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek SGW-406-18-GO-086NIDCD NIH HHS U01 DC016686NIDCD NIH HHS U01DC016686NINDS NIH HHS UH3 NS114439NINDS NIH HHS UH3NS114439Stichting voor de Technische Wetenschappen UGT7685
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRecent studies have demonstrated that speech can be decoded from brain activity which in turn can be used for brain-computer interface (BCI)-based communication. It is however also known that the area often used as a signal source for speech decoding BCIs, the sensorimotor cortex (SMC), is also engaged when people perceive speech, thus making speech perception a potential source of false positive activation of the BCI. The current study investigated if and how speech perception may interfere with reliable speech BCI control.

methodsWe recorded high-density electrocorticography (HD-ECoG) data from five subjects while they performed a speech perception and a speech production task. We first evaluated whether speech perception and production activated the SMC. Second, we trained a support-vector machine (SVM) on the speech production data (including rest). To test the occurrence of false positives, this decoder was then tested on speech perception data where every perception segment that was classified as a produced syllable rather than rest was considered a false positive. Finally, we investigated whether perceived speech could be distinguished from produced speech and rest.

resultsOur results show that both the perception and production of speech activate the SMC. In addition, we found that decoders that are highly reliable at detecting self-produced syllables from brain signals may generate false positive BCI activations during the perception of speech and that it is possible to distinguish perceived speech from produced speech and rest, with high accuracy.

conclusionsWe conclude that speech perception can interfere with reliable BCI control, and that efforts to limit the occurrence of false positives during daily-life BCI use should be implemented in BCI design to increase the likelihood of successful adoptation by end users.

Indexed as

Brain-Computer InterfacesSensorimotor CortexSpeech PerceptionAdultElectrocorticographyFemaleHumansMaleSpeechSupport Vector MachineALSBrain-Computer interfaceCommunicationLocked-in syndromeNeuroprosthesisReliabilitySpeech decoding

Identifiers

PMID40830488
PMCPMC12362870

What Socratic holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.