Intermediate
Motor imagery
Also known as: Imagined movement, Attempted movement
Imagining or attempting a movement without actually making it. This produces brain activity a BCI can detect and use as a control signal.
In EEG, imagining moving the left or right hand changes rhythms over the opposite side of the brain. In implanted BCIs, people with paralysis usually get the best results by attempting the movement, as if their body could still respond.
Last updated Sep 30, 2026. Educational content, not medical advice.