An approximation approach for rendering visual flickers in SSVEP-based BCI using monitor refresh rate

Steady-state visual evoked potential (SSVEP)-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have potential to realize a direct communication between the human brain and the external environment in practical situations. In the conventional stimulus presentation approach, which requires a constant period of stimulation, the number of frequencies that can be presented on a computer monitor is always limited by the refresh rate of a monitor. Although an alternative approach that uses a variable on/off frame number to approximate a target flickering stimulus has been proposed in our recent study, a direct comparison between SSVEPs elicited by the conventional constant period approach and the approximation approach is still missing. This study aims to compare the amplitude, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and target identification accuracy of SSVEPs elicited using these two approaches with a monitor at two refresh rates (75Hz and 120Hz). Results of this study suggest that the SSVEPs elicited by the approximation approach are mostly comparable with those elicited by the constant period approach.