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SPRINGER BRIEFS IN
ELEC TRIC AL AND COMPUTER ENGINEERING

Christoph Guger
Brendan Z. Allison
Michael Tangermann Editors

Brain-Computer
Interface
Research
A State-of-the-Art
Summary 9

123
SpringerBriefs in Electrical and Computer
Engineering

Series Editors
Woon-Seng Gan, School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Nanyang
Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
C.-C. Jay Kuo, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Thomas Fang Zheng, Research Institute of Information Technology, Tsinghua
University, Beijing, China
Mauro Barni, Department of Information Engineering and Mathematics, University
of Siena, Siena, Italy
SpringerBriefs present concise summaries of cutting-edge research and practical
applications across a wide spectrum of fields. Featuring compact volumes of 50
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Typical topics might include: timely report of state-of-the art analytical techniques, a
bridge between new research results, as published in journal articles, and a contextual
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clinical example and a presentation of core concepts that students must understand
in order to make independent contributions.

More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10059

Christoph Guger · Brendan Z. Allison ·
Michael Tangermann
Editors

Brain-Computer Interface
Research
A State-of-the-Art Summary 9
Editors
Christoph Guger Brendan Z. Allison
g.tec medical engineering GmbH Department of Cognitive Science
Schiedlberg, Oberösterreich, Austria University of California San Diego
San Diego, CA, USA
Michael Tangermann
Brain State Decoding Lab
University of Freiburg
Freiburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

ISSN 2191-8112 ISSN 2191-8120 (electronic)

SpringerBriefs in Electrical and Computer Engineering
ISBN 978-3-030-60459-2 ISBN 978-3-030-60460-8 (eBook)
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Contents

Brain-Computer Interface Research: A State-of-the-Art

Summary 9 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Christoph Guger, Michael Tangermann, and Brendan Z. Allison
BCI-Based Neurofeedback Training for Quitting Smoking . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Junjie Bu and Xiaochu Zhang
Neurofeedback of Scalp Bi-Hemispheric EEG Sensorimotor
Rhythm Guides Hemispheric Activation of Sensorimotor Cortex
in the Targeted Hemisphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Masaaki Hayashi, Nobuaki Mizuguchi, Shohei Tsuchimoto,
and Junichi Ushiba
Next Generation Microscale Wireless Implant System
for High-Density, Multi-areal, Closed-Loop Brain Computer
Interfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Farah Laiwalla, Vincent W. Leung, Jihun Lee, Patrick Mercier,
Peter Asbeck, Ramesh Rao, Lawrence Larson, and Arto Nurmikko
Interfacing Hearing Implants with the Brain: Closing the Loop
with Intracochlear Brain Recordings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53
Ben Somers, Damien Lesenfants, Jonas Vanthornhout, Lien Decruy,
Eline Verschueren, and Tom Francart
Final Results of Multi-center Randomized Controlled Trials
of BCI-Controlled Hand Exoskeleton Complex Assisting
Post-stroke Motor Function Recovery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Alexander Frolov, Elena Biryukova, Pavel Bobrov, Dmirty Bobrov,
Alexander Lekin, Olesya Mokienko, Roman Lyukmanov,
Sergey Kotov, Anna Kondur, Galina Ivanova, and Yulia Bushkova
Hearables: In-Ear Multimodal Brain Computer Interfacing . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Metin C. Yarici, Harry J. Davies, Takashi Nakamura, Ian Williams,
and Danilo P. Mandic

v
vi Contents

Power Modulations of Gamma Band in Sensorimotor Cortex

Correlate with Time-Derivative of Grasp Force in Human Subjects . . . . 89
Tianxiao Jiang, Priscella Asman, Giuseppe Pellizzer, Dhiego Bastos,
Shreyas Bhavsar, Sudhakar Tummala, Sujit Prabhu, and Nuri F. Ince
Developing a Closed-Loop Brain-Computer Interface
for Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders Using Electrical
Brain Stimulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Yuxiao Yang, Omid G. Sani, Morgan B. Lee, Heather E. Dawes,
Edward F. Chang, and Maryam M. Shanechi
Decoding Speech from Dorsal Motor Cortex . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
Sergey Stavisky
Training with BCI-Based Neurofeedback for Quitting Smoking . . . . . . . . 115
Junjie Bu
Closed-Loop BCI for the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders . . . . . 121
Omid G. Sani, Yuxiao Yang, and Maryam M. Shanechi
The StentrodeTM Neural Interface System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Nicholas Opie
Towards Brain-Machine Interface-Based Rehabilitation
for Patients with Chronic Complete Paraplegia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Solaiman Shokur
Recent Advances in Brain-Computer Interface Research:
A Summary of the 2019 BCI Award and Online BCI Research
Activities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Christoph Guger, Michael Tangermann, and Brendan Z. Allison
Brain-Computer Interface Research:
A State-of-the-Art Summary 9

Christoph Guger, Michael Tangermann, and Brendan Z. Allison

Abstract Brain-computer interface (BCI) systems can provide communication and

control without any physical movement. The BCI Research Awards are annual events
to select the best BCI projects that year. Groups from around the world submit projects
that are scored by a jury of international experts that selects twelve nominees and three
winners. We also produce books like this one that review that year’s nominees, awards
ceremony, and winners. This introductory chapter briefly reviews BCIs and the 2019
awards process, including the jury, selection criteria, and nominees. We mention
many chapters that might engage readers with different interests, including chapters
with project descriptions or interviews with nominees. Many of the chapters here
describe new approaches to BCIs that could be useful to patients and/or mainstream
users. The final chapter of this book reviews the Awards Ceremony, announces the
winners, and presents concluding comments.

Keywords Brain-computer interface · EEG · ECoG · BCI Research Awards · BCI

Foundation · BCI Society

In the introduction to last year’s book (Guger et al. 2020), we said that we were
preparing for the Tenth Annual Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) Research Award
ceremony as part of the 2020 BCI Meeting in Belgium. Since then, this conference
has been postponed due to COVID. However, many entities have hosted online
conferences, workshops, training sessions, and other events that show a strong
ongoing interest in BCI research. With recent and upcoming online events from
g.tec, NeurotechX, the organizers of the planned BCI Samara Conference, and other

C. Guger (B)
g.tec medical engineering GmbH, Schiedlberg, Austria
e-mail: guger@gtec.at
M. Tangermann
Brain State Decoding Lab, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany
B. Z. Allison
Cognitive Science Department, University of California at San Diego, La Jolla, USA

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 1

C. Guger et al. (eds.), Brain-Computer Interface Research,
SpringerBriefs in Electrical and Computer Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60460-8_1
2 C. Guger et al.

organizers, there are still many opportunities to become involved in BCI research or
just learn more about the newest advances in our field.
We have also moved ahead with our ninth book, which is based on the BCI
Research Award 2019. As with earlier books, we invited the authors of projects that
were nominated for a BCI Research Award to contribute chapters describing what
they did in their project, along with discussion and newer work from their group or
other groups. Several authors in this book discuss next steps, future clinical directions,
important challenges, and other issues to add breadth to their chapters.

1 What Is a BCI?

There is still no official, universally accepted definition of a brain-computer interfaces

(BCI). Different articles have used slightly different definitions. However, journal
papers and chapters that introduce or review BCIs have generally stated that BCIs are
systems based on direct measures of brain activity that present real-time feedback to
the end user. Real-time systems with advanced feedback are increasingly common,
but the unique feature of BCIs is the reliance on brain signals that have not yet
traveled elsewhere in the body (Wolpaw and Wolpaw 2012; Nam et al. 2018). The
most widely cited review of BCIs states: “A BCI is a communication system in which
messages or commands that an individual sends to the external world do not pass
through the brain’s normal output pathways of peripheral nerves and muscles. For
example, in an EEG based BCI the messages are encoded in EEG activity. A BCI
provides its user with an alternative method for acting on the world (Wolpaw et al.
2002).”
BCI systems do not need to rely exclusively on direct measures of brain activity.
“Hybrid” BCIs might use BCIs along with other tools to convey information,
including other BCIs, keyboards, mice, or systems based on speech, eye movement,
or muscle activity. Hybrid BCIs began gaining attention in the literature about ten
years ago (Lee et al. 2010; Müller-Putz et al. 2011; Leeb et al. 2011), and numerous
more recent papers have presented or reviewed more advanced hybrid BCI systems
(e.g., He et al. 2019; Rezazadeh Sereshkeh et al. 2019; Allison et al. 2020).
BCIs are also changing in terms of the people who can benefit from them. For
many years, most BCI research sought to provide communication and/or control for
persons with severe motor disabilities. Lou Gehrig’s Disease, brainstem stroke, and
other causes can leave people with little or no voluntary motor control. Since BCIs
do not require voluntary motor control, they may be the only way for some people
to interact with the outside world. Hence, keyboards, mice, and even some or all
assistive technologies for disabled people may not be practical for them. However,
more recent advances have shown that BCIs might be practical for different types
of patients. As with prior books, the chapters in this book feature new ways to use
BCIs to help broader patient groups.
BCIs for healthy users have been gaining attention as well. The past few years
have seen high-profile announcements from Facebook and Elon Musk about large
Brain-Computer Interface Research … 3

scale projects devoted to new BCI systems meant for healthy users. BCIs for healthy
users are not new, and some applications meant for patients have also been validated
with healthy users (Israel et al. 1980; Jung et al. 1997; Münßinger et al. 2010; Nijholt
et al. 2019). However, most prior efforts have come from small research groups or
companies with relatively limited resources. Hopefully, large-scale BCI efforts will
push the field forward and foster new BCIs for healthy users and patients.

2 The Annual BCI Research Award

The Annual BCI Research Award is organized through the non-profit BCI Award
Foundation. The Foundation was founded in 2017 in Austria and is chaired by
Drs. Christoph Guger and Dean Krusienski. The BCI Award Foundation has Board
Members to organize the Award. Editor Brendan Allison is also on the Board (Fig. 1).
Jury members may not submit projects. The award is open to any other research
group, regardless of their location, equipment used, etc. The awards procedure this
year followed a procedure like prior years:
• The BCI Award Foundation selects a Chairperson of the Jury from a top BCI
research institute.
• The Chairperson selects a jury of international BCI experts to evaluate all projects
submitted for the Award.
• The Award website1 has instructions, scoring criteria, and the deadline for the
Award.

Fig. 1 The Board Members of the BCI Award Foundation

1 https://www.bci-award.com/Home.
4 C. Guger et al.

• The chairperson and BCI experts judge each submission.

• The jury chooses the first, second, and third place winners.
• The Award website announces the nominees.
• We ask the nominees to contribute a chapter to this annual book series, which
may be a project summary and/or interview, and invite them to that year’s Awards
Ceremony within a major conference (such as an International BCI Meeting or
Conference).
• Each Awards Ceremony is a major conference event.
The third-place prize was generously donated by the BCI Society. The BCI Society
is a non-profit organization that organizes the BCI Meeting series (bcisociety.org).
Authors CG and BA are members of the BCI Society and former Board Members.
The other cash prizes were provided the Austrian company called g.tec medical
engineering (author CG is the CEO), which manufactures equipment and software
for BCIs and other applications.
The 2019 jury, shown in Fig. 2, included Dr. Ajiboye, who won the 2018 BCI
Research Award, and Dr. Tangermann, last year’s second place winner. Dr. Tanger-
mann was also a nominee in 2018 and a juror in 2011. The 2019 jury also had a good
mix of people with backgrounds in invasive and non-invasive BCIs who work in
different areas active in BCIs. This prior experience and breadth are both important
in juries, who need to evaluate a wide range of BCI projects each year.
The scoring criteria that the jury used to select the nominees and winners were
the same as all previous BCI Research Awards:

Fig. 2 The jury for the 2019 BCI Research Award

Brain-Computer Interface Research … 5

• Does the project include a novel application of the BCI?

• Is there any new methodological approach used compared to earlier projects?
• Is there any new benefit for potential users of a BCI?
• Is there any improvement in terms of speed of the system (e.g. bit/min)?
• Is there any improvement in terms of accuracy of the system?
• Does the project include any results obtained from real patients or other potential
users?
• Is the used approach working online/in real-time?
• Is there any improvement in terms of usability?
• Does the project include any novel hardware or software developments?
After the jury tallies the resulting scores, the nominees are posted online and invited
to the Awards Ceremony. This ceremony has usually been part of the biggest BCI
conference for that year. The BCI Society2 coordinates BCI Meetings every even-
numbered year, while the Technical University of Graz organizes a BCI Conference
every odd-numbered year.3
This year’s ceremony was part of the 8th Graz BCI Conference 2019. Like most
years, the ceremony occurred in the evening to avoid conflict with daytime conference
activities and provide a more relaxing atmosphere. The ceremony began with a short
introduction to the BCI Awards and the selection procedure. Next, we asked one or
more people whose project was nominated to join us onstage for a certificate. The
ceremony concluded with announcing the first, second, and third place winners. The
1st place winner earns $3000 USD and the prestigious Gert Pfurtscheller bread knife
trophy. The 2nd and 3rd place winners get $2000 USD and $1000 USD, respectively
(Fig. 3).

3 The BCI Research Award Book Series

The first BCI Research Award was in 2010, and we’ve been producing a book along
with the Award each year. Every year, we reviewed the main purpose of the awards
and books. We want to recognize and encourage the top projects in BCI research
worldwide. Each book contains chapters written by people who were nominated
for that year’s BCI Research Award. After the Awards Ceremony, we invite the
nominees to write chapters about their work. Almost all chapters have reviewed
the work nominated for the award. We provide the authors with several additional
months after the ceremony to add new discoveries or results (from their group or
other research groups), improved tables or figures, major challenges and possible
solutions, future directions, and other commentary.

2 Bcisociety.org.
3 Tugraz.at/institutes/ine/home/.
6 C. Guger et al.

Fig. 3 The Chair of the Jury, Michael Tangermann, and jury member Selina Wriessnegger announce
the projects nominated for the BCI Award at the Awards Ceremony at a BCI conference in Graz
called the 8th Graz BCI Conference 2019

This year, for the first time, we had to leave the formatting entirely to Springer
Publishing and their typesetters, with insufficient changes to proofs. The impact is
obvious, and we hope the quality content shines through nonetheless.
Last year and this year, some chapters have been interviews, providing a different
way to learn more about the nominee’s project and related issues. For example, in
chapter “Towards Brain-Machine Interface-Based Rehabilitation for Patients with
Chronic Complete Paraplegia”, we interviewed Dr. Solaiman Shokur, a Senior
Researcher at Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL). Dr. Shokur
discussed his team’s research using EEG-based BCIs to help patients with spinal
cord injury (SCI). Their BCI system included locomotion training and VR, and their
results were the first to show that patients with certain types of neurological injuries
could recover some brain function with this approach.
The introduction and discussion chapters are meant to be friendly and straight-
forward. Readers who are new to BCIs, the BCI Research Awards, our book series,
or the chapters in this year’s book can learn more about all these topics. However,
most of the chapters present more challenging material. Readers who are students
or otherwise motivated to understand new terms and topics should be able to learn
about BCI projects that interest them. Experts will also learn about some of the
newest advances and the authors’ perspectives. Interview chapters are often easier
to read.
Brain-Computer Interface Research … 7

4 Projects Nominated for the BCI Award 2019

The twelve submissions with the highest scores were nominated for the BCI Research
Award 2019. These nominees, affiliations, and project names were:

4.1 BCI-Based Neurofeedback Training

for Quitting Smoking

Junjie Bu1 , Kymberly D. Young2 , Wei Hong1 , Ru Ma1 , Hongwen Song5 , Ying Wang1 ,
Wei Zhang1 , Michelle Hampson3 , Talma Hendler4 , Xiaochu Zhang1,5 .
1
Hefei National Laboratory for Physical Sciences at the Microscale and School
of Life Sciences, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, China.
2
Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pitts-
burgh, USA.
3
Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, Yale School of Medicine,
New Haven, CT, USA.
4
Functional Brain Center, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
5
School of Humanities & Social Science, University of Science & Technology of
China, Hefei, China.

4.2 Decoding Speech from Intracortical Multielectrode

Arrays in Dorsal Motor Cortex

Sergey D. Stavisky1 , Francis R. Willett1 , Paymon Rezaii1 , Leigh R. Hochberg2 ,

Krishna V. Shenoy1,3 , Jaimie M. Henderson1 .
1
Stanford University, USA.
2
Brown University, Harvard Medical School, Massachusetts General Hospital,
Providence VA Medical Center, USA.
3
Howard Hughes Medical Institute, USA.

4.3 Neurofeedback of Scalp EEG Sensorimotor Rhythm

Guides Hemispheric Activation of Sensorimotor Cortex

Masaaki Hayashi1 , Nobuaki Mizuguchi2,3 , Shohei Tsuchimoto1,2 , Shoko Kasuga1,4,5 ,

Junichi Ushiba3,4 .
1
School of Fundamental Science and Technology, Graduate School of Keio
University, Kanagawa, Japan.
2
The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan.
8 C. Guger et al.

3
Department of Biosciences and informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology,
Keio University, Kanagawa, Japan.
4
Keio Institute of Pure and Applied Sciences, Kanagawa, Japan.
5
Centre for Neuroscience Studies, Queen’s University, Ontario, Canada.

4.4 Developing a Closed-Loop Brain-Computer Interface

for Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders Using
Electrical Brain Stimulation

Yuxiao Yang1 , Omid G. Sani1 , Morgan B. Lee2,3,4 , Heather E. Dawes2,3,4 , Edward

F. Chang2,3,4 , Maryam M. Shanechi1,5 .
1
Ming Hsieh Department of Electrical Engineering, Viterbi School of Engi-
neering, University of Southern California, USA.
2
Department of Neurological Surgery, University of California, USA.
3
Weill Institute for Neuroscience, University of California, San Francisco, USA.
4
Kavli Institute for Fundamental Neuroscience, University of California, San
Francisco, USA.
5
Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, USA.

4.5 StentrodeTM Neural Interface

System: Minimally-Invasive Brain-Computer Interface
Designed for Everyday Use

Peter Yoo1 , Nicholas Opie1 , Thomas Oxley1 , Stephen Ronayne1 , Gil Rind1 , Amos
Meltzer1 .
1
Synchron Inc., Australia.

4.6 Interfacing Hearing Implants with the Brain: Closing

the Loop with Intracochlear Brain Recordings

Ben Somers1 , Damien Lesenfants1 , Jonas Vanthornhout1 , Lien Decruy1 , Eline

Verschueren1 , Tom Francart1 .
1
KU Leuven—University of Leuven, Department of Neurosciences, ExpORL,
Leuven, Belgium.
Brain-Computer Interface Research … 9

4.7 A Brain–Spine Interface Alleviating Gait Deficits

in a Primate Model of Parkinson’s Disease

Tomislav Milekovic1,2 , Flavio Raschellà3 , Matthew G. Perich2 , Shiqi Sun1,4 , Eduardo

Martin Moraud6,7 , Giuseppe Schiavone5 , Yang Jianzhong8,9 , Andrea Galvez2 ,
Christopher Hitz1 , Alessio Salomon1 , David Borton1,10 , Jean Laurens1,11 , Isabelle
Vollenweider1 , Simon Borgognon1 , Jean-Baptiste Mignardot1 , Wai Kin D Ko8,9 ,
Cheng YunLong8,9 , Li Hao8,9 , Peng Hao8,9 , Qin Li8,9 , Marco Capogrosso12 , Tim
Denison13 , Stéphanie P. Lacour5 , Silvestro Micera3,14 , Chuan Qin9 , Jocelyne
Bloch6,7 , Erwan Bezard8,10,15,16 , Grégoire Courtine1,6,7 .
1
Center for Neuroprosthetics and Brain Mind Institute, School of Life Sciences,
EPFL, Switzerland.
2
Department of Fundamental Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine, University of
Geneva, Switzerland.
3
Center for Neuroprosthetics and Institute of Bioengineering, School of Engi-
neering, EPFL, Switzerland.
4
Beijing Engineering Research Center for Intelligent Rehabilitation, College of
Engineering, Peking University, People’s Republic of China.
5
Center for Neuroprosthetics, Institute of Microengineering and Institute of
Bioengineering, School of Engineering, EPFL, Switzerland.
6
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV)
and University of Lausanne, Switzerland.
7
Department of Neurosurgery, CHUV, Switzerland.
8
Motac Neuroscience, United Kingdom.
9
Institute of Laboratory Animal Sciences, China Academy of Medical Sciences,
People’s Republic of China.
10
Carney Institute for Brain Science, School of Engineering, Brown University,
USA.
11
Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, USA.
12
Translational Neuroscience platform, University of Fribourg, Switzerland.
13
Oxford University, United Kingdom.
14
The BioRobotics Institute, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna, Italy.
15
Université de Bordeaux, Institut des Maladies Neurodégénératives (IMN),
France.
16
CNRS, IMN, France.
10 C. Guger et al.

4.8 Post-stroke Rehabilitation Training

with a Motor-Imagery-Based Brain-Computer Interface
(BCI)-Controlled Hand Exoskeleton: A Randomized
Controlled Multicenter Trial

Frolov Alexander1,2 , Biryukova Elena1,2 , Bobrov Pavel1,2 , Bobrov Dmirty1 , Lekin

Alexander1 , Mokienko Olesya3 , Lyukmanov Roman3 , Kotov Sergey4 , Kondur
Anna4 , Ivanova Galina1 , Bushkova Yulia1 .
1
Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University, Russia.
2
Institute of Higher Nervous Activity, Russia.
3
Research Centre of Neurology, Russia.
4
Vladimirsky Moscow Regional Research Clinical Institute, Russia.

4.9 The Walk Again Neurorehabilitation Protocol:

A BMI-Based Clinical Application to Induce Partial
Neurological Recovery in Spinal Cord Injury Patients

Solaiman Shokur1 , Debora S. F. Campos1 , A. R. C. Donati1 , Eduardo J. L. Alho1 ,

Mikhail Lebedev1 , Miguel Nicolelis1 .
1
Neurorehabilitation laboratory AASDAP.

4.10 Hearables: In-Ear Multimodal Brain Computer

Interfacing

Metin Yarici1 , Harry J. Davies1 , Takashi Nakamura1 , Ian Williams1 , Danilo P.

Mandic1 .
1
Imperial College London, UK.

4.11 Power Modulations of ECoG Alpha/Beta and Gamma

Bands Correlate with Time Derivative of Force During
Sustained Hand Grasp

Tianxiao Jiang1 , Priscella Asman1 , Giuseppe Pellizzer2 , Sudhakar Tummala3 , Sujit

Prabhu3 , Nuri F. Ince1 .
1
University of Houston, USA.
2
University of Minnesota, USA.
3
MD Anderson Cancer Center, USA.
Brain-Computer Interface Research … 11

4.12 Next-Generation Microscale Wireless Implant System

for High-Density, Multi-areal Closed-Loop Brain
Computer Interfaces

Farah L. Laiwalla1 , Vincent W. Leung2 , Jihun Lee1 , Patrick Mercier2 , Peter Asbeck2 ,
Ramesh Rao2 , Lawrence Larson1 , Arto Nurmikko1 .
1
Brown University, USA.
2
University of California San Diego, USA.

5 Summary

The subsequent chapters in this book present interviews and research directions that
may interest a myriad of different readers. Like chapters from preceding books, this
year’s chapters include both invasive and non-invasive BCIs, with different system
components, user interaction paradigms, signal processing methods, and goals. Many
chapters present new approaches to help different patient groups.
For example, neurofeedback was prominent in several projects nominated in 2019.
Chapters “BCI-Based Neurofeedback Training for Quitting Smoking” and “Training
with BCI-Based Neurofeedback for Quitting Smoking” present a novel type of
BCI for quitting smoking, with one chapter focused on their project and another
chapter devoted to an interview. Their project used well-established EEG neuro-
feedback principles combined with advanced BCI techniques that was effective in a
double-blind trial. Chapters “Developing a Closed-Loop Brain-Computer Interface
for Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders Using Electrical Brain Stimulation”
and “Closed-Loop BCI for the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders” describe a
different approach to use neurofeedback for patients with neuropsychiatric disorders.
The project in chapter “Neurofeedback of Scalp Bi-Hemispheric EEG Sensorimotor
Rhythm Guides Hemispheric Activation of Sensorimotor Cortex in the Targeted
Hemisphere” addressed neurofeedback for sensorimotor control. Different chapters
present BCI systems to help patients recover from stroke, produce or understand
speech, or use tactile feedback to support grasping and other activities. Like many
directions presented in different chapters, their work is not yet ready for widespread
clinical application, but could ignite new ideas and follow-up efforts that could help
many people. The last chapter of this book presents the winners of the 2019 BCI
Research Award and some discussion.

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Computer Interfaces: Principles and Practice, vol. 14 (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2012)
BCI-Based Neurofeedback Training
for Quitting Smoking

Junjie Bu and Xiaochu Zhang

Abstract Neurofeedback is a psychophysiological protocol in which online feed-

back of brain activation is provided to the participant for self-regulation. As a
progenitor of brain–computer interfaces (BCIs), neurofeedback has provided a novel
way to improve brain function and investigate neuroplasticity. Previous EEG-based
neurofeedback protocols have been employed in drug addiction treatment for more
than four decades. However, the efficacy of these traditional EEG neurofeedback
approaches in the treatment of addiction remains dubious. Here we developed a novel
cognition-guided neurofeedback protocol and evaluated its therapeutic efficacy on
nicotine addiction. We trained a personalized multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA)
classifier to identify an EEG activity pattern associated with drug cue reactivity using
the specific cognitive task (drug cue reactivity task) before neurofeedback, and subse-
quently trained participants to de-activate this pattern during neurofeedback (hereby
termed ‘cognition-guided neurofeedback’). In a double-blind, placebo-controlled,
randomized clinical trial, 60 nicotine-dependent participants were assigned to receive
two neurofeedback training sessions (about 1 h/session) either from their own brain
(N = 30, real-feedback group) or from the brain activity pattern of a matched
participant (N = 30, yoked-feedback group). In the real-feedback group, partici-
pants successfully de-activated EEG activity patterns of smoking cue reactivity. The
real-feedback group showed significant decrease in cigarette craving and craving-
related P300 amplitudes compared with the yoked-feedback group. The rates of
cigarettes smoked per day at 1-week, 1-month and 4-month follow-up decreased
30.6, 38.2, and 27.4% relative to baseline in the real-feedback group, compared to
decreases of 14.0, 13.7, and 5.9% in the yoked-feedback group. The neurofeedback
effects on craving change and smoking amount at the 4-month follow-up were further
predicted by neural markers at pre-neurofeedback. This novel neurofeedback training
approach produced significant short-term and long-term effects on cigarette craving

J. Bu (B)
School of Biomedical Engineering, Research and Engineering Center of Biomedical Materials,
Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
e-mail: bujunjie@ahmu.edu.cn
J. Bu · X. Zhang
School of Life Sciences, University of Science & Technology of China, Hefei, China

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 13

C. Guger et al. (eds.), Brain-Computer Interface Research,
SpringerBriefs in Electrical and Computer Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60460-8_2
14 J. Bu and X. Zhang

and smoking behavior, suggesting the neurofeedback protocol described herein is a

promising brain-based tool for treating addiction.

Keywords Brain-computer interface · Cognition-guided neurofeedback · Nicotine

addiction · Smoking cue reactivity

1 Introduction

Nicotine addiction is the leading preventable cause of disease and death worldwide.
With approximately 75% of patients with nicotine dependence not responding fully to
the Gold Standard Programme (a comprehensive intervention consisting of manual-
based teaching sessions together with nicotine replacement therapy) for smoking
cessation interventions (Rasmussen et al. 2017), high relapse rates during long-term
follow-up periods remain a core feature of nicotine addiction. Therefore, there is an
urgent need to develop novel therapeutic approaches for nicotine addiction.
Neurofeedback, a psychophysiological procedure that helps participants self-
regulate their brain activity, has been of growing interest among basic and clinical
neuroscientists (Sitaram et al. 2017). Clinically, neurofeedback has been employed
in many psychiatric disorders, including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
(Arns et al. 2009), depression (Young et al. 2017), anxiety (Scheinost et al. 2013)
and drug addiction (Sokhadze et al. 2008). Further, recent fMRI-based neurofeed-
back studies indicate preliminary efficacy in reducing cigarette craving in smokers
(Li et al. 2013; Hartwell et al. 2016). However, the feasibility of turning fMRI neuro-
feedback into a widely available clinical intervention is questionable. In contrast,
EEG is a relatively inexpensive and portable brain imaging technique that can be
easily implemented at any location and has more potential for wide-spread clin-
ical implementation than fMRI neurofeedback. Previous EEG-based neurofeedback
protocols, including alpha training, alpha/theta training, and SMR (sensorimotor
rhythm)/beta training, have been employed in drug addiction treatment for more
than four decades (Sokhadze et al. 2008). Using these training protocols, drug-
dependent patients received the power of a single and fixed EEG frequency and
self-regulated that signal (Schmidt et al. 2017). Most of these studies focused on
facilitating relaxation and reducing anxiety. However, the efficacy on drug addiction
has only been classified as “probably efficacious” in reports from the Association
for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback and the International Society for
Neurofeedback and Research (Sokhadze et al. 2008; Schmidt et al. 2017). Addi-
tionally, recent studies question the clinical efficacy of previous EEG neurofeedback
protocols (Thibault and Raz 2016; Fovet et al. 2017; Schabus et al. 2017). Hence, a
new direction for EEG neurofeedback in treating drug addiction is warranted.
The efficacy of these traditional EEG neurofeedback approaches in the treat-
ment of addiction remains dubious, in part, because addiction process involves many
complex cognitive models (e.g. the cue reactivity model (Chiamulera 2005) and
negative reinforcement model Koob [2013]), but previous neurofeedback studies
BCI-Based Neurofeedback Training for Quitting Smoking 15

mainly targeted arousal and/or anxiety. Instead, drug cue reactivity can evoke the
impulse for drug-seeking behavior in addiction (Weiss et al. 2001). Previous studies
from our group and others indicate that smoking cue reactivity is a central charac-
teristic of nicotine addiction (Zhang et al. 2009; Engelmann et al. 2012) and can
predict relapse vulnerability (Janes et al. 2010); thus, there is evidential support for
a causal relationship between cue reactivity and relapse (Parvaz et al. 2011). There-
fore, reducing brain reactivity to smoking cues has the potential to improve smoking
cessation outcomes.
Recent EEG studies have reported that smoking cue reactivity is a complex brain
activity pattern that involves multiple EEG features, including both time domain (e.g.,
P300, slow positive wave) and frequency domain (e.g., alpha oscillation) features
(Cui et al. 2013; Littel and Franken 2007; Littel et al. 2012). Typically, multi-
variate pattern analysis (MVPA) can enhance sensitivity of detecting a particular
brain activity pattern by using multifeature combinations for input to multivariate
patterns (Haynes and Rees 2006). A number of neurofeedback studies combined
with MVPA have been impressively successful at improving attention and percep-
tual learning after only a few sessions (deBettencourt et al. 2015; Shibata et al.
2011), whereas some traditional EEG-based neurofeedback studies require dozens
of sessions for any effects to be detected (Sokhadze et al. 2008).
In the current study, we evaluated a novel EEG neurofeedback paradigm
(cognition-guided neurofeedback) effects on nicotine addiction by double-blind,
randomized, placebo-controlled design.

2 Cognition-Guided Neurofeedback

The cognition-guided neurofeedback training paradigm consisted of two parts

(Fig. 1a, b). First, we trained a personalized classifier to distinguish the EEG activity
patterns corresponding to smoking and neutral cue reactivity using the smoking cue
reactivity task. Raw signals were pre-processed offline based on the EEG signals
acquired during the smoking cue reactivity task. Afterwards, time domain (EEG
potential) and time-frequency domain (EEG power) features were calculated by
contrasting smoking with neutral cues using a permutation test. Time-frequency
domain features were calculated by wavelet analysis. Under the threshold (p < 0.05)
of the permutation test, the EEG potential and EEG power features surviving this
threshold were separately formed into temporal-spatial clusters by grouping them at
adjacent time points and electrodes using a cluster-based statistic (Groppe et al. 2011).
Once the temporal-spatial clusters were identified, the EEG features for constructing
the pattern classifier were extracted from these clusters. The mean values (potential
and power) from each temporal-spatial cluster were calculated and combined into
a linear support vector machine (SVM) classifier. The SVM classifier was selected
since it often outperforms other classifiers for neurofeedback (Lotte et al. 2018).
16 J. Bu and X. Zhang

Fig. 1 Cognition-guided neurofeedback paradigm (a, b) and experimental procedure (c)

Next, during neurofeedback training, participants were asked to repeatedly and

continuously de-activate their real-time EEG activity patterns of smoking cue reac-
tivity calculated using a previously constructed classifier. For each real-time raw
EEG signal lasting 1 s, the pre-processing was used by the same algorithm as in the
previous EEG pre-processing. The time domain and time-frequency domain features
were then extracted from the previous temporal-spatial clusters by calculating the
mean values (EEG potential and EEG power), and then input into the personalized
classifier. The classifier estimated the probabilistic score in real time reflecting the
extent to which the brain activity pattern matched the pattern for reactivity to the
smoking cue. We determined the probabilistic scores (from 0 to 1) for the classifier.
As a result, when a participant successfully deactivated the smoking cue pattern, the
probabilistic score decreased. That is, when the current activity patterns were more
BCI-Based Neurofeedback Training for Quitting Smoking 17

similar to neutral cue activity patterns, the score decreased, and when the current
activity patterns were more similar to the smoking cue activity patterns, the score
increased.

3 Adaptive Closed-Loop Design

To improve participants’ vigilance, and help them better self-monitor and evaluate
their brain state during neurofeedback, we used an adaptive closed-loop method in
which the neurofeedback stimulus and decoded brain state influenced each other in
real-time (deBettencourt et al. 2015). Different craving level pictures evoked different
degrees of smoking cue reactivity for smokers (Carter and Tiffany 1999). In the
current study, an approach of continually updating sensory stimuli (e.g., different
craving level pictures) based on changing brain states (e.g., different degrees of
smoking cue reactivity pattern) constituted a “closed-loop” design. The logic of this
closed-loop design is that, when a participant was unsuccessful in “deactivating”
the smoking cue pattern (i.e., the probabilistic score increased), a picture with a
higher craving level was displayed to amplify and externalize the consequences of
the participant’s smoking cue related brain activity pattern (deBettencourt et al. 2015;
deBettencourt and Norman 2016). This made unsuccessful deactivation more salient
and increased the self-monitoring demand of the task. In other words, we amplified
the consequences of their cue pattern, rewarding successful deactivation by reducing
difficulty with a lower craving level picture and punishing unsuccessful deactivation
by increasing difficulty with a higher craving level picture.
The probabilistic score was presented at the bottom half of the screen and trans-
ferred into a picture presented at the top half of the screen at the same time (Fig. 1b).
The association between the probabilistic score and the transferred picture was
controlled by a linear positive correlation function. To reduce fluctuations due to
noise in the EEG signal, the probabilistic score value of each trial was calculated
using a moving average of the current and two preceding values.
After neurofeedback practice, participants were required to identify ten cognitive
strategies that may be effective at de-activating the neurofeedback signal, but it was
emphasized that they should adjust their strategies to find a method that works best
for them during neurofeedback (Instruction: “Make the feedback curve move down
and the picture induce less craving”). Each neurofeedback training session consisted
of 8 cycles, with 40 trials per cycle. Each trial was updated every 2 s including 1
s acquisition and 1 s computing, with a 1 min rest between cycles. At the end of
each cycle, the self-regulation performance during the previous cycle was presented.
After each cycle, participants rated their perceived control over the neurofeedback
signal. The final cumulative performance was translated into an additional money
reward. Both groups received the same money after neurofeedback.
18 J. Bu and X. Zhang

4 Experimental Procedure and Participants

The study was a double blind, randomized, placebo-controlled design. The experi-
mental procedure consisted of four stages (Fig. 1c): (1) baseline session (Visit 1); (2)
two neurofeedback training sessions (Visit 2 and Visit 3); (3) post-training behavioral
session (Visit 4); and (4) follow-up session (Visit 5). Participants were required to be
abstinent from smoking cigarettes for two hours prior to every visit, which ensured
participants had some craving and responsiveness to the cues without the potential
confound of a ceiling effect from prolonged abstinence.
Sixty participants who met the following criteria participated in the experiment:
smoking 10 or more cigarettes per day for 2 years or more, right-handed, between
18 and 40 years of age, normal or corrected to normal vision, and in good mental
and physical health assessed by the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview
(Sheehan et al. 1998).
Participants were randomly assigned to the real-feedback group (n = 30) or the
yoked-feedback group (n = 30). The real-feedback group regulated their own online
brain patterns. The yoked-feedback group regulated the brain activity pattern of a
matched participant in the real-feedback group (deBettencourt et al. 2015).

5 Cognition-Guided Neurofeedback Effects

on Nicotine Addiction

Figure 2 indicates that the real-feedback group successfully de-activated smoking

cue reactivity patterns after two neurofeedback visits. A linear regression analysis
revealed that there was a strong and significant negative correlation between training
cycle and the mean probabilistic score across participants in the real-feedback group
(r = −0.155, p = 0.001) (Fig. 2a). However, this finding was not observed in the
yoked-feedback group (r = 0.015, p = 0.77) (Fig. 2b) and the correlation was
significantly different from the real-feedback group (z = −2.47, p = 0.013). A
two-way mixed-design ANOVA using group (real-feedback, yoked-feedback) as a
between-subjects factor and cycle (first cycle of neurofeedback visit 1, last cycle of
neurofeedback visit 2) as a within-subjects factor on the probabilistic score revealed
a significant group-by-cycle interaction (F(1, 51) = 4.04, p = 0.04, d = 0.56).
A two-way mixed-design ANOVA using group (real-feedback, yoked-feedback)
as a between-subjects factor and time (pre-neurofeedback, post-neurofeedback)
as a within-subjects factor on the cigarette craving score revealed a signifi-
cant group by time interaction (F(1, 51) = 4.69, p = 0.03, d = 0.61)
(Fig. 3a). Furthermore, participants in the real-feedback group with lower levels
of average de-activated neurofeedback performance exhibited greater decreases
in craving scores (r = −0.40, p = 0.03), which was consistent with our hypothe-
sized mechanism of action for this intervention (Fig. 3b). This correlation was not
significant in the yoked-feedback group (r = −0.12, p = 0.53). In addition, we
BCI-Based Neurofeedback Training for Quitting Smoking 19

Fig. 2 Neurofeedback learning

compared the craving-related P300 component evoked by smoking-related cues.

A two-way mixed-design ANOVA using group (real-feedback, yoked-feedback)
as a between-subjects factor and time (pre-neurofeedback, post-neurofeedback)
as a within-subjects factor on average amplitude at selected group peak time
window (350 ms ~ 450 ms) revealed a significant group-by-time interaction effect
(F(1, 51) = 5.13, p = 0.028, d = 0.64). These findings indicated neurofeedback
produced short-term effects on cigarette craving.
A two-way mixed-design ANOVA using group (real-feedback, yoked-feedback)
as a between-subjects factor and time (pre-neurofeedback, 1-week follow-up, 1-
month follow-up, 4-month follow-up visit) as a within-subjects factor on daily
cigarette consumption revealed a significant group by time interaction (F(3, 126) =
3.68, p = 0.01, d = 0.59) (Fig. 3c). After two neurofeedback training visits,
the real-feedback group showed significantly decreased cigarette consumption per
day compared to the yoked-feedback group at the 1-week follow-up (t(48) =
−2.53, p = 0.01, d = 0.72), 1-month follow-up (t(47) = −2.98, p < 0.005, d =
0.86), and 4-month follow-up (t(42) = −2.21, p = 0.03, d = 0.67). In addition,
20 J. Bu and X. Zhang

Fig. 3 Neurofeedback effects on short-term cigarette craving and long-term smoking behavior. *p
< 0.05; **p < 0.01; ***p < 0.005; ns: not significant. NF: neurofeedback

the real-feedback group showed a significant correlation between the average de-
activated neurofeedback performance and the current cigarette amount at 4-month
follow-up (r = 0.58, p = 0.004) (Fig. 3d). These findings indicated neurofeedback
produced long-term effects on smoking behavior.
Figure 4a shows that the classification accuracy of the pre-neurofeedback clas-
sifier significantly predicted decreased craving scores in the real-feedback group
(r = 0.40, p = 0.03), while the same prediction was not significant in the yoked-
feedback group (r = 0.13, p = .54). Moreover, the correlation analysis revealed that
the degree of de-activation during the first cycle of the first neurofeedback success-
fully predicted the number of cigarettes smoked per day at the 4-month follow-up
(r = 0.45, p = 0.03, Fig. 4b) in the real-feedback group, but not in the yoked-
feedback group (r = 0.16, p = 0.45). These findings indicated short- and long-
term effects were predicted by the classification accuracy at pre-neurofeedback and
neurofeedback performance during the first training cycle, respectively.
BCI-Based Neurofeedback Training for Quitting Smoking 21

Fig. 4 Individual-level prediction of short-term (a) and long-term (b) effects. NF: neurofeedback

6 Conclusion

In conclusion, we developed and tested a novel cognition-guided neurofeedback

protocol to de-activate EEG activity patterns of smoking cue reactivity, which
produced short- and long-term effects on cigarette craving and smoking behavior.
In particular, the rate of smoking amount decreased as much as 38.2% during the
4-month follow-up period after only 2 h of neurofeedback training. These results
suggest this novel neurofeedback intervention is a promising treatment for addic-
tion, with potential to be a low-cost and high-portability brain-based treatment for
addiction. This approach therefore merits further testing.

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Neurofeedback of Scalp Bi-Hemispheric
EEG Sensorimotor Rhythm Guides
Hemispheric Activation of Sensorimotor
Cortex in the Targeted Hemisphere

Masaaki Hayashi, Nobuaki Mizuguchi, Shohei Tsuchimoto,

and Junichi Ushiba

Abstract Oscillatory electroencephalographic (EEG) activity is associated with

excitability of cortical regions. Visual feedback of EEG-oscillations may promote
increased excitability in targeted cortical regions, but is not truly guaranteed due
to its limited spatial specificity and signal interaction among interhemispheric
brain regions. Guiding spatially specific sensorimotor cortical activation is impor-
tant for facilitating neural rehabilitation processes. Here, we developed a spatially
bivariate EEG-based neurofeedback approach that monitors bi-hemispheric sensori-
motor activities during unilateral upper-limb motor imagery (MI), and tested whether
users could volitionally lateralize sensorimotor activity to the contralateral or ipsi-
lateral hemisphere using right shoulder MI-associated neurofeedback. Then, hand
MI-associated BCI-neurofeedback was tested as a negative control via the same
procedure. Lateralized EEG activity was compared between shoulder and hand MIs
to see how differences in intrinsic corticomuscular projection patterns might influence
activity lateralization. In right shoulder MI, ipsilaterally and contralaterally domi-
nant sensorimotor activation was guided via EEG-based neurofeedback. Conversely,
in right hand MI, only contralaterally (but not ipsilaterally) dominant sensori-
motor activation was guided. These results are compatible with neuroanatomy;

This article is a summary of the paper in Neuroimage (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.

117298) and is licensed by Elsevier.

M. Hayashi · S. Tsuchimoto
School of Fundamental Science and Technology, Graduate School of Keio
University, Kanagawa, Japan
N. Mizuguchi · S. Tsuchimoto
The Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan
N. Mizuguchi · J. Ushiba (B)
Department of Biosciences and Informatics, Faculty of Science and Technology,
Keio University, Kanagawa, Japan
e-mail: ushiba@brain.bio.keio.ac.jp
J. Ushiba
Keio Institute of Pure and Applied Sciences, Kanagawa, Japan

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 25

C. Guger et al. (eds.), Brain-Computer Interface Research,
SpringerBriefs in Electrical and Computer Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60460-8_3
26 M. Hayashi et al.

shoulder muscles are innervated bihemispherically, whereas hand muscles are mostly
innervated contralaterally.

Keywords Brain-computer interface · Motor imagery · Laterality · Sensorimotor

cortical activity · Neural plasticity

1 Introduction

Oscillatory brain activity is associated with the excitability of a cortical region.

Changes in frequency, amplitude, and phase of ongoing oscillation cycles visualized
in electro- or magnetoencephalograms (EEG/MEG) over the human sensorimotor
cortex (SM1) are associated with modulated responses in SM1. In particular, the
excitability of SM1 and the connected spinal motoneuron pool is significantly higher
when the amplitude of sensorimotor rhythms (SMR) in the alpha (8–13 Hz) and beta
(14–30 Hz) bands is lower (Neuper and Pfurtscheller 2001; Neuper et al. 2006;
Pfurtscheller et al. 2006). This concept has inspired neurofeedback interventions
via a brain-computer interface (BCI) whereby, for example, post-stroke hemiplegic
patients learn to volitionally desynchronize/synchronize SMR signals in the ipsile-
sional hemisphere through visual or sensory feedbacks, with the goal of bringing the
residual spared sensorimotor system into a more excitable/relaxed state as a precursor
for enhanced neural plasticity and accelerated recovery.
Although the sensorimotor circuit can be potentiated through BCI-neurofeedback
paradigms (Ang and Guan 2017; Ramos-Murguialday et al. 2013; Soekadar et al.
2015a), less is known about whether such BCI-neurofeedback can explicitly guide
sensorimotor cortical activation to a targeted hemisphere. This is crucial to under-
standing the brain’s intrinsic neural interferences (e.g., the interaction between the
left and right hemispheres through transcallosal connections, and interhemispheric
connectivity of the supplementary motor area-SM1 network) (Arai et al. 2011; Waters
et al. 2017). Sensorimotor circuits in left and right hemispheres might potentially
influence one another, suggesting that BCI-neurofeedback of the SMR signal from
one hemisphere does not always guarantee spatially specific activation of the sensori-
motor circuit in the targeted hemisphere (Buch et al. 2008; Caria et al. 2011). Indeed,
no previous study has shown that the sensorimotor cortical activity can be guided to
the targeted hemisphere with spatial specificity, either contralaterally or ipsilaterally.
Guiding spatially specific sensorimotor cortical activation is important, for
example, for facilitating neural rehabilitation processes. For instance, the remod-
eling process of the ipsilesional SM1 for finger motor recovery in the post-stroke
stage was shown to impede shoulder movement recovery, as the enlargement of motor
areas associated with finger control can lead to erosion of motor areas responsible
for shoulder movement (Muellbacher et al. 2002). Furthermore, contralesional SM1
demonstrated better control of paralyzed muscles than did ipsilesional SM1 (Takasaki
2017; McPherson et al. 2018). Thus, preventing competitive reinnervation processes
in the SM1 may aid in better motor improvement post-stroke. BCI-neurofeedback
Neurofeedback of Scalp Bi-Hemispheric EEG … 27

designed to guide sensorimotor cortical activation to a targeted hemisphere has great

potential to facilitate the neural remodeling process during post-stroke rehabilitation.
To resolve this uncertainty in the BCI-neurofeedback technique—that is, whether
the sensorimotor cortical activity can be guided to the targeted hemisphere—we
conducted a BCI experiment focusing on the neuroanatomical properties of skeletal
muscle innervation as a pre-clinical trial and a First-in-Person Proof-of-Concept
study. Recent studies suggested that there is a relationship between intrinsic func-
tional/structural architecture of the brain and successful learning of brain activity
(Halder et al. 2013; Young et al. 2016). In the present study, we selected two different
motor imageries (MIs): “shoulder” MI in a first setting and “hand” MI in a second
setting as a negative control. It is known that the deltoid anterior (DA) muscle for
flexing proximal muscles is innervated bilaterally (Carson 2005; Colebatch et al.
1990). Conversely, the extensor digitorum communis (EDC) muscle, which is for
extending distal muscles and is predominantly innervated from the contralateral
hemisphere (Carson 2005; Colebatch et al. 1990), was used as a contrast to the bilat-
eral corticomuscular connections of the DA muscle. Therefore, we hypothesized
that, if BCI-neurofeedback is a potent up-regulator of hemispheric activation to the
targeted side, shoulder MI-associated BCI-neurofeedback should enable the sensori-
motor excitability to be lateralized to the targeted hemisphere, either contralaterally
or ipsilaterally. In contrast, hand MI-associated BCI-neurofeedback might enable
the sensorimotor excitability to be lateralized to the contralateral hemisphere, while
limiting lateralization of the ipsilateral excitability by virtue of its neuroanatomical
constraint.
In this study, participants performed shoulder/hand MI-associated BCI-
neurofeedback to learn volitional regulation of sensorimotor cortical excitability in
the contralateral or ipsilateral hemisphere in a double-blind, randomized, within-
subject crossover design. We used a new BCI-neurofeedback approach during
unilateral repetitive kinesthetic MI to volitionally regulate sensorimotor cortical
excitability, as reflected by desynchronization/synchronization of SMR signals
(SMR-ERD/ERS), with the aim of guiding its intensity to only the targeted hemi-
sphere. To this end, we designed BCI-neurofeedback that displays both left and right
hemispheric SMR-ERDs concurrently, allowing participants to learn to regulate these
two variates at the same time and to modulate target-hemisphere-dependent SMR-
ERD. This neuroanatomically-inspired approach enabled us to investigate potent
neural remodeling functions that underlie EEG oscillation-based neurofeedback via
a BCI.

2 Spatially Bivariate EEG-Based Neurofeedback

All participants completed the four different neurofeedback sessions on separate

days; each session consisted of the pre- and post-evaluation blocks and the six training
blocks (Fig. 1).
28 M. Hayashi et al.

Fig. 1 Study design and experimental paradigm

2.1 Evaluation Block

In the pre- and post-evaluation blocks, no visual feedback was provided. The aim of
the pre-evaluation block was to evaluate the baseline brain activity and to calibrate
parameters in the neurofeedback settings each day. First, the target frequency was
calibrated for each participant in order to feedback the most reactive frequency. The
target frequency was selected from the alpha band (8–13 Hz) by calculating the mean
intensity of SMR-ERD with a 3-Hz sliding bin and 2-Hz overlap. SMR-ERD in the
alpha band is a reliable EEG biomarker representing increased neuronal excitability
in SM1, corticospinal tract, and thalamocortical systems. Second, the target level of
SMR-ERD during MI was normalized for each participant at the third quartile of the
contralateral or ipsilateral SMR-ERD in the pre-evaluation block. This setting was
empirically approved by the authors as a moderate load for effective operant learning
(Naros et al. 2016).

2.2 Training Block

In the training blocks, participants received visual feedback based on the SMR-
ERDs from both left and right hemispheres. The real-time SMR-ERD intensity in
each hemisphere (relative to the average power of the last 6 s of the resting epoch) was
obtained every 100 ms. To modulate target hemisphere-dependent SMR-ERD, we
Neurofeedback of Scalp Bi-Hemispheric EEG … 29

developed BCI-neurofeedback that displayed both left and right hemispheric SMR-
ERDs concurrently, allowing participants to learn to regulate these two variates at the
same time. Visual feedback was provided on a computer screen in the form of cursor
movements in a two-dimensional coordinate, in which each axis corresponded to the
degree of the contralateral or ipsilateral SMR-ERD (Fig. 1). The axis range was from
−100% (i.e., ERS) to 100%, and the cursors were presented at the origin-position
(x = 0, y = 0) at the initiation of a trial. A key point of this study is that participants
were always instructed to try to move the cursor toward the upper right in the two-
dimensional coordinate during MI in all four neurofeedback training sessions. In the
case of shoulder MI, for example, participants performed the same MI and tried to
move the cursor to the upper right regardless of whether it was a Shoulder-contra
or Shoulder-ipsi session. However, the coordinate systems during the two sessions
differed as follows: in the Shoulder-contra session, the x-axis and y-axis corresponded
to the ipsilateral SMR-ERS and contralateral SMR-ERD, respectively. Conversely,
in the Shoulder-ipsi session, the x-axis and y-axis corresponded to the contralateral
SMR-ERS and ipsilateral SMR-ERD, respectively. Thus, the upper right position
always indicated a reduction in alpha rhythm in the targeted hemisphere with respect
to the baseline (i.e., SMR-ERD) and an increase in the non-targeted side (i.e., SMR-
ERS). Using such a gimmicked environment, we aimed at lateralizing cortical activity
in the sensorimotor cortex, blinding which task was being performed.
A score was calculated when the most recent cursor on the screen reached the
ten blue boxes representing the scoring range (Fig. 1b). The coordinates of each
blue box corresponded to the degree of bilateral SMR-ERDs, with the x-axis set in
steps of 10% SMR-ERS in the non-targeted hemisphere, and y-axis ranged from the
predefined threshold to 100% SMR-ERD in the target hemisphere. At the end of the
trial, the computer cursor returned to the origin position. A score for each segment
(each computer cursor updated every 100 ms) was obtained during the MI epoch to
provide feedback about the overall performance of each trial. The darkest blue box
in the upper left in Fig. 1b had a low score (5 points), whereas the lightest blue box
in the upper right had a high score (15 points). The boxes in the middle were set
in steps of 1 point. Finally, a cumulative sum calculated by adding all scores was
displayed for 5 s in the left side of the screen at the interval period in each trial (range:
0–765 points). To boost learning of self-regulation in sensorimotor cortical activity,
participants were encouraged to get a higher cumulative sum than during the previous
trial. Such screen presentation of the total score at the end of the trial is referred
to as ‘intermittent feedback’ (Johnson et al. 2012). Previous studies demonstrated
that providing intermittent feedback is a useful element for neurofeedback training
(Shibata et al. 2011; Posse et al. 2003) because it probably reduces cognitive loads
during MI.
30 M. Hayashi et al.

Fig. 2 Changes in BCI performance

3 BCI Performance

Figure 2 illustrates the changes in BCI performance (i.e., total cumulative score) in
each session. In shoulder MI, the total cumulative score was improved in both the
Shoulder-contra session (pre = 1170, post = 1651, difference = 481, Cohen’s d =
0.72, p = 0.007, paired t-test) and the Shoulder-ipsi session (pre = 891, post = 1310,
difference = 419, Cohen’s d = 0.84, p = 0.011, paired t-test). On the other hand,
in hand MI, the total cumulative score was improved in the Hand-contra session
(pre = 1783, post = 1136, difference = 647, Cohen’s d = 1.20, p = 0.018, paired
t-test), but not in the Hand-ipsi session (pre = 1249, post = 1253, difference = 4,
Cohen’s d = 0.01, p = 0.97, paired t-test). We also found that the total cumulative
score in the evaluation blocks was lower than that in the training blocks, which is in
keeping with the well-known information that visual feedback enhances MI-based
BCI performance (Ono et al. 2015; Pichiorri et al. 2015). Differences between the 6
training blocks for cumulative score were not statistically significant (all p > 0.05,
one-way rmANOVA).
Neurofeedback of Scalp Bi-Hemispheric EEG … 31

4 Effects of EEG-Based Neurofeedback

During Shoulder MI

Spatial patterns of SMR-ERD during the MI epoch in the pre- and post-evaluation
blocks of a representative participant are shown in Fig. 3a, b. The SMR-ERDs were
localized predominantly in the bilateral parieto-temporal regions during the pre-
evaluation block, regardless of whether it was a Shoulder-contra or Shoulder-ipsi
session. During the Shoulder-contra session, the contralateral SMR-ERD increased
after the neurofeedback training session, whereas the ipsilateral SMR-ERD did not
(Fig. 3a). Conversely, during the Shoulder-ipsi session, the contralateral SMR-ERD
did not increase, but the ipsilateral SMR-ERD did (Fig. 3b).
Figure 3c, d show Laterality Index (LI) changes during the Shoulder-contra and
Shoulder-ipsi sessions, respectively. During the Shoulder-contra session, the LI in
the post-evaluation block (−0.113 ± 0.072) was significantly lower than that in the
pre-evaluation block (−0.030 ± 0.089) (difference = 0.083, Cohen’s d = 1.76, p
= 0.023, paired t-test; Fig. 3c). By contrast, during the Shoulder-ipsi session, the
LI in the post-evaluation block (0.017 ± 0.103) was significantly higher than that
in the pre-evaluation block (−0.067 ± 0.103) (difference = 0.084, Cohen’s d =
0.86, p = 0.039, paired t-test; Fig. 3d). Target-hemisphere-dependent SMR-ERDs
were modulated during both the Shoulder-contra and Shoulder-ipsi sessions, even
though participants repeated the same MI under the neurofeedback setting with only
a change in the rule of cursor movement (i.e., reversal of x-axis and y-axis).
We assessed seed-based corrected imaginary part of coherence (ciCOH during the
resting-state in the pre- and post-evaluation blocks to evaluate interregional synchro-
nization (i.e., functional connectivity). Figure 4a, b show significant intrahemispheric
connections in each hemisphere of a representative participant. The number of signif-
icant connections in the contralateral hemisphere increased from the pre- to the post-

Fig. 3 Effects of shoulder MI-associated neurofeedback on SMR-ERD

32 M. Hayashi et al.

Fig. 4 Effects of shoulder MI-associated neurofeedback on resting-state functional connectivity

epochs during the Shoulder-contra session (Fig. 4a), whereas they increased in the
ipsilateral hemisphere during the Shoulder-ipsi session (Fig. 4b). Intrahemispheric
network intensity changes in the targeted hemisphere during the Shoulder-contra
and Shoulder-ipsi sessions are shown in Fig. 4c and d, respectively. Figure 4e, f
show significant interhemispheric connections of a representative participant, which
increased during both the Shoulder-contra and Shoulder-ipsi sessions. Changes in
interhemispheric network intensity for all participants during the Shoulder-contra
and Shoulder-ipsi sessions are outlined in Fig. 4g and h, respectively. During the
Shoulder-contra session, the interhemispheric network intensity was significantly
higher during the post-evaluation block (2.01 ± 0.28) than during the pre-evaluation
block (1.80 ± 0.19; difference = 0.21, Cohen’s d = 0.88, p = 0.030, paired t-test;
Fig. 4g). Similarly, during the Shoulder-ipsi session, the interhemispheric network
intensity was significantly higher in the post-evaluation block (2.09 ± 0.42) than in
the pre-evaluation block (1.77 ± 0.37) (difference = 0.31, Cohen’s d = 0.81, p =
0.006, paired t-test; Fig. 4h).
Neurofeedback of Scalp Bi-Hemispheric EEG … 33

5 Comparison of SMR-ERDs During Shoulder MI

and Hand MI

To further examine the effectiveness in BCI-neurofeedback training purported to

lateralize sensorimotor cortical activities, we compared the changes in SMR-ERD
during shoulder MI and hand MI (Fig. 5). A three-way ANOVA revealed a significant
interaction between Session × Hemisphere × Limb (F(1, 88) = 4.98, p = 0.047) and
Session × Hemisphere (F(1, 88) = 26.7, p < 0.001), but no interaction between Session
× Limb (F(1, 88) = 1.44, p = 0.255) or Hemisphere × Limb (F(1, 88) = 2.06 p = 0.179).
Although Limb had a significant main effect (F(1, 88) = 5.43, p = 0.040), Session
(F(1, 88) = 1.29, p = 0.28) and Hemisphere (F(1, 88) = 2.39, p = 0.15) did not have
any effects. Post hoc two-way ANOVA with Hemisphere × Limb in the sessions
aiming for lateralization to the contralateral hemisphere (i.e., Shoulder-contra and
Hand-contra) showed a significant main effect for Hemisphere (F(1, 44) = 12.39, p =
0.001); however, there was no main effect for Limb (F(1, 44) = 0.27, p = 0.608) and
no interaction (F(1, 44) = 0.30, p = 0.589). By contrast, post hoc two-way ANOVA
with Hemisphere × Limb in the sessions aiming for lateralization to the ipsilateral
hemisphere (i.e., Shoulder-ipsi and Hand-ipsi) indicated a significant main effect
for Hemisphere (F(1, 44) = 4.51, p = 0.039) and interaction (F(1, 44) = 5.70, p =
0.021), but no main effect for Limb (F(1, 44) = 1.99, p = 0.166). Thus, there were
interhemispheric differences in SMR-ERD during the shoulder MI and hand MI
tasks. Moreover, a post hoc paired t-test demonstrated a significant difference in
Hemisphere (p = 0.001) during shoulder MI, but no difference in Hemisphere (p
= 0.859) during hand MI (Bonferroni corrected). Thus, the SMR-ERD in the
ipsilateral hemisphere was significantly more positive than that in the contralateral

Fig. 5 Two-way interaction in SMR-ERD during shoulder MI (dark gray) and hand MI (light
gray) tasks
34 M. Hayashi et al.

hemisphere during the shoulder MI task, but no significant difference was observed
during the hand MI task.

6 Discussion

6.1 The Lateralization of Sensorimotor Cortical Activity

to the Contralateral Hemisphere

The SMR-ERD contralateral to the imagined limb increased significantly after both
the shoulder-contra and Hand-contra sessions. Previous studies also demonstrated
up-conditioning of the contralateral SM1 using contralateral-based neurofeedback
during hand MI (Birbaumer and Cohen 2007; Ang et al. 2011; Prasad et al. 2010).
Repetitive induction of the SMR-ERD contralateral to the imagined limb through
visual or sensory feedback with neuromuscular electrical stimulation or robotic
movement supports are considered to induce the use-dependent, error-based, and/or
Hebbian-like plasticity of the contralateral SM1 (Gharabaghi et al. 2014; Soekadar
et al. 2015b; Ushiba and Soekadar 2016). As contralateral SMR-ERD is a surro-
gate monitoring marker of contralateral SM1 excitability (Takemi et al. 2013, 2015;
Hayashi et al. 2019), BCI-neurofeedback can promote operant learning of contralat-
eral sensorimotor cortical activity. This is an expected phenomenon because distal
muscles such as the EDC muscle are innervated from the contralateral hemisphere,
which is most influential for muscle contraction (Carson 2005; Colebatch et al. 1990).
However, the BCI-neurofeedback-derived SMR signal from the contralateral
hemisphere does not always guarantee spatially specific activation of the contralat-
eral SM1 because both hemispheres are connected by intrinsic transcallosal projec-
tions and exhibit functional crosstalk (Arai et al. 2011; Waters et al. 2017). Indeed,
conventional contralateral-based BCI-neurofeedback has induced a global increase
including the ipsilateral SMR-ERD, indicating conventional BCI is considered as a
modulation technique without spatial specificity (Pichiorri et al. 2015; Birbaumer
and Cohen 2007; Ono et al. 2014). A key advantage of our study was that the
BCI-neurofeedback that we developed monitored both contralateral and ipsilateral
SMR-ERDs, demonstrating explicitly guided sensorimotor cortical activation in the
targeted contralateral hemisphere alone.
Guiding cortical sensorimotor activation to the targeted hemisphere is also crucial
in the context of neurorehabilitation. For example, it is known that an imbal-
anced interhemispheric inhibition due to excessive suppression from the ipsilateral
(contralesional) to the contralateral side results in further attenuation of the contralat-
eral sensorimotor cortical activity (Shimizu et al. 2002; Murase et al. 2004; Bütefisch
et al. 2008). A temporary guide to down-conditioning in the ipsilateral hemisphere
using non-invasive brain stimulation is also important to reduce interhemispheric
inhibition after stroke (Hummel and Cohen 2006; Takeuchi et al. 2012). Therefore,
the laterality shifting of sensorimotor cortical activity to the contralateral side may
Neurofeedback of Scalp Bi-Hemispheric EEG … 35

contribute to the degree of achievable functional recovery (Askim et al. 2009; Chieffo
et al. 2013).

6.2 The Lateralization of Sensorimotor Cortical Activity

to the Ipsilateral Hemisphere

During the shoulder-ipsi session, the ipsilateral SMR-ERD increased significantly.

Although increasing evidence suggests that the contribution of the ipsilateral hemi-
sphere is salient in motor control (Ward et al. 2003; Dodd et al. 2017; Bundy et al.
2017), no previous study has shown that sensorimotor cortical activity can be guided
to the ipsilateral hemisphere. Chiew and his colleagues indicated that different types
of MI-based (right and left hands) fMRI neurofeedback of the LI (i.e., the difference in
BOLD responses between the contralateral M1 and the ipsilateral M1 to the imagined
hand) is capable of lateralizing to the contralateral hemisphere (Chiew et al. 2012),
but lateralizing to the ipsilateral was not successful due to “hand” MI-associated
neurofeedback. Therefore, our study is the first to show that BCI-neurofeedback is
a potent up-regulator of hemispheric activation to the targeted hemisphere, either
contralaterally or ipsilaterally in the same participants, depending on the targeted
muscle.
Successful up-conditioning of the ipsilateral SM1 during shoulder MI may
be associated with its neuroanatomical properties, because ipsilateral SMR-ERD
reflects the excitability of the ipsilateral corticospinal tract (CST) (Hasegawa et al.
2017), which mainly innervates proximal muscles (Carson 2005; Alawieh et al.
2017). Unlike hand motor muscles, the functional recovery of axial or shoulder
muscles following stroke hemiplegia is promoted by unmasking the ipsilateral
pathway to the paretic hand (Muellbacher et al. 2002; Colebatch et al. 1990; Schw-
erin et al. 2008). Thus, neurofeedback aimed at ipsilateral lateralization would be
conceptually useful for stroke rehabilitation, particularly for functional maturation
of ipsilateral CST and proximal muscle motor recovery.
The ipsilateral SMR-ERD did not increase during the Hand-ipsi session, implying
that the extent of corticospinal projection from the ipsilateral hemisphere to the
imagined body part affected the modulation of the laterality of sensorimotor cortical
activity. With recent developments in neuroimaging techniques, there is an emerging
interest in understanding the intrinsic functional and structural architecture of the
brain that underlies successful learning of brain activity. For example, research
probing the prediction of BCI aptitude from individual brain structures demonstrated
that the integrity and myelination quality of deep white matter structures, such as the
corpus callosum, cingulum, and superior fronto-occipital fascicle, were positively
correlated with individual BCI-performance (Halder et al. 2013). Additionally, it
has been suggested that changes in the integrity of the contralesional CST may be
accompanied by improved BCI-performance after stroke (Young et al. 2016). The
current literature makes it clear that there is a relationship between neuroanatomical
36 M. Hayashi et al.

characteristics and voluntary control of brain activity. Therefore, our findings implied
that intrinsic neuroanatomical properties such as the CST constrains the effective-
ness in BCI-neurofeedback training purported to lateralize sensorimotor cortical
activities. Further work that approaches the further understandings of differences in
BCI-learning is warranted.

7 Conclusion

We addressed whether sensorimotor cortical activity can be guided to the targeted

hemisphere using a BCI-neurofeedback approach that displays both left and right
hemispheric SMR-ERDs to modulate bilateral sensorimotor cortical activities. EEG-
based BCI-neurofeedback enabled us to up-regulate hemispheric activation to the
targeted hemisphere, both contralaterally or ipsilaterally, in the same participants,
which had not been reported prior to this work. During shoulder MI-associated neuro-
feedback, both the contralateral SMR-ERD and ipsilateral SMR-ERD increased.
Network intensity in the targeted hemisphere also increased in association with
increases in SMR-ERD, implying that the modulation of distributed interregional
neural communication influenced the up-regulation of sensorimotor cortical activity.
Conversely, the absence of an increase in ipsilateral SMR-ERD during hand MI indi-
cated that the amount of corticospinal projection from the ipsilateral hemisphere to
the imagined body part can constrain the laterality of brain activity. These results
suggest that EEG-based BCI-neurofeedback that guides sensorimotor cortical activa-
tion in a targeted hemisphere, either contralaterally or ipsilaterally, has great potential
to facilitate the resumption and shaping of the neural remodeling process.

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Next Generation Microscale Wireless
Implant System for High-Density,
Multi-areal, Closed-Loop Brain
Computer Interfaces

Farah Laiwalla, Vincent W. Leung, Jihun Lee, Patrick Mercier,

Peter Asbeck, Ramesh Rao, Lawrence Larson, and Arto Nurmikko

Abstract A major challenge to high-resolution, closed-loop Brain Computer Inter-

faces (BCIs) is the availability of implantable technologies facilitating vastly parallel,
large-scale access to cortical neural data representing complex, naturalistic tasks
or sophisticated therapeutic neuromodulation. The current technological bottle-
neck is scalability of systems employing intra or epicortical electrode arrays with
hard-wired tethers and bulky implant packaging. We address these challenges by
employing an approach relying on spatially-distributed, completely wireless clus-
ters of autonomous microscale neural interfaces, where each microdevice provides
a single bidirectional channel (read-out and write-in) of neural access, and occupies
a volume <0.01 mm2 inclusive of biocompatible packaging for long-term implan-
tation. Wireless power transfer, high-bandwidth bidirectional telecommunications
and adaptive networking across multi-areal clusters are managed by a wearable
external module to produce an implantable device system with anatomic flexibility
and scalability, forming a “cortical internet”.

Keywords Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) · Electrocorticographic (ECoG) ·

Bidirectional wireless neural interfaces · Neuroprosthetics · Cortical internet

1 Introduction

Modern high-performance Brain Computer Interfaces (BCIs) rely on high fidelity

sensors in the form of implanted multichannel electrocorticographic (ECoG) or
microelectrode arrays (MEAs). Several other chapters in this book demonstrate

F. Laiwalla (B) · J. Lee · L. Larson · A. Nurmikko

Brown University School of Engineering, Providence, RI 02912, USA
e-mail: farah_laiwalla@brown.edu
V. W. Leung · P. Mercier · P. Asbeck · R. Rao
University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA 92093, USA
V. W. Leung
Baylor University, Waco, TX 76798, USA

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 39

C. Guger et al. (eds.), Brain-Computer Interface Research,
SpringerBriefs in Electrical and Computer Engineering,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-60460-8_4
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may serve, though he never actually puts it to any, is enough to
justify his pursuit of it.”

Be it so, then: But is there no better pleasure for him to aim at, and
which he loses by following this; and although a man’s ways, we are
told, be right in his own eyes162; yet, is there no difference in them,
and do not some of them lead through much trouble to
disappointment and death? And is there not a presumption, a
certainty, that the way of the miser is of this sort? when his very
name may admonish him of the light in which the common sense of
mankind regards his pursuit of untasted opulence; and when he
finds, by experience, that his unnatural appetite for it is always
encreasing, be the plenty never so great which is set before him.
But,

2. Wealth may be MISAPPLIED, as well as over-rated, and generally is

so, in the most offensive manner, by those, who think there are no
pleasures, which it cannot command. For, although the miser has the
worse name in the world, yet the spendthrift (since a certain
alliance, which has taken place between luxury and avarice) possibly
deserves our indignation more.

But ye shall judge for yourselves. Are not riches, let me ask, sadly
misapplied, when, after having been pursued and seized upon, with
more than a miser’s fury, they are suddenly let go again, on all the
wings163 of prodigality and folly? which scatter their precious load,
not on modest merit, or virtuous industry, or suffering innocence,
but on the flatterers of pride, the retainers of pomp, the panders of
pleasure; in a word, on those miscreants, who imped these harpies,
and sent them forth, for the annoyance of mankind.

And well are these spendthrifts repaid for their good service. For this
profusion brings on more pains and penalties, than I am able to
express; disappointment, regret, disgust, and infamy; and not
uncommonly, in the train of these, that tremendous spectre to a
voluptuous man, Poverty: or, if the source, which feeds this whirlpool
of riotous expence, be yet unexhausted, and flow copiously, these
waters have that baleful quality, that they inflame, instead of
quenching, the drinker’s thirst. All his natural appetites grow nice
and delicate; and ten thousand artificial ones are created, and
become more vexatious to him, than any that are of nature’s
growth. The idolater of riches, the infatuated lover of silver, now
finds, that the power he serves, the mistress he adores, yields him
no other fruit of all his assiduity, but self-abhorrence and distraction;
the loss of all virtuous feelings; and numberless clamorous desires,
which give him no truce of their importunity, and are incapable, by
any gratification, of being quieted and assuaged.

So true is the observation, that he, who, loveth silver, shall not be
satisfied with silver! For, either the passion grows upon us, when the
object is not enjoyed; or, if it be, a new force is given to it, and a
legion of other passions, as impatient and unmanageable as the
original one, start up out of the enjoyment itself.

I know the lovers of money are not easily made sensible of this fatal
alternative. They think, that this, or that sum, will fill164 all their
wishes, and make them as rich, and as happy, as they desire to be.
But they presently feel their mistake; and yet rarely find out, that
the way to content lies through self-command, and that to have
enough of any thing which this world affords, we must be careful not
to grasp at too much of it.

On the entrance into life, higher and more generous motives usually
excite the better part of mankind to labour in those professions, that
are accounted liberal. But, as they proceed in their course, interest,
which was always one spur to their industry, infixes itself deeply into
their minds, and stimulates them more sensibly than any other. It
can scarce be otherwise, considering the influence of example; the
experience they have, or think they have, of the advantages, that
attend encreasing wealth; the fashion of the times, which indulges,
or, as we easily persuade ourselves, requires refined, and therefore
expensive, pleasures; and, above all, the selfishness of the human
mind, which is, and, for wise reasons, was intended to be a powerful
spring of action in us.

Thus there are several adventitious, shall we call them? or natural

inclinations, which prompt us to the pursuit of riches; and I would
not be so rigid, as to insist on the total suppression of them.

Let then the fortune, or the honour (for both are included in the
magical word silver) which eminent worth may propose to itself, be
among the inducements which erect the hopes, and quicken the
application, of a virtuous man. But let him know withal (and I am in
no pain for the effect, which this premature knowledge may have
upon him) that the application, and not the object, is that in which
he will find his account; just as the pursuit, and not the game, is the
true reward of the chace. He who thinks otherwise, and reckons that
affluence is content, or grandeur, happiness, will have leisure, if he
attain to either, to rectify his opinion, and to see that he had made a
very false estimate of human life.

And, now, having thus far commented on my text, I will take leave,
for once, to step beyond it, and shew you, in few words (for many
cannot be necessary on so plain a subject) where and how
satisfaction may be found.

In the abundance of silver, it does not, and cannot lie; nor yet in a
cynical contempt of it: but, in few and moderate desires; in a correct
taste of life, which consults nature more than fancy in the choice of
its pleasures; in rejecting imaginary wants, and keeping a strict hand
on those that are real; in a sober use of what we possess, and no
further concern about more than what may engage us, by honest
means, to acquire it; in considering who, and what we are165; that
we are creatures of a day, to whom long desires and immeasurable
projects are very ill suited; that we are reasonable creatures, who
should make a wide difference between what seems to be, and what
is important; that we are accountable creatures, and should be more
concerned to make a right use of what we possess, than to enlarge
our possessions; that, above all, we are Christians, who are
expected to sit loose to a transitory world, to extend our hopes to
another life, and to qualify ourselves for it.

In this way, and with these reflections, we shall see things in a true
light, and shall either not desire abundant wealth, or shall
understand its true value. The strictest morality, and even our divine
religion, lays no obligation upon us to profess poverty. We are even
required to be industrious in our several callings and stations, and
are, of course, allowed to reap the fruits, whatever they be, of an
honest industry. Yet it deserves our consideration, that wealth is
always a snare, and therefore too often a curse; that, if virtuously
obtained, it affords but a moderate satisfaction at best; and that, if
we WILL be rich, that is, resolve by any means, and at all events, to
be so, we pierce ourselves through with many sorrows166; that it
even requires more virtue to manage, as we ought, a great estate,
than to acquire it, in the most reputable manner; that affluent, and,
still more, enormous wealth secularizes the heart of a Christian too
much, indisposes him for the offices of piety, and too often (though
it may seem strange) for those of humanity; that it inspires a
sufficiency and self-dependance, which was not designed for mortal
man; an impatience of complying with the rules of reason, and the
commands of religion; a forgetfulness of our highest duties, or an
extreme reluctance to observe them.

In a word, when we have computed all the advantages, which a

flowing prosperity brings with it, it will be our wisdom to remember,
that its disadvantages are also great167; greater than surely we are
aware of, if it be true, as our Lord himself assures us it is; that a rich
man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of Heaven168.

Yet, with God (our gracious Master adds) all things are possible. I
return, therefore, to the doctrine with which I set out, and conclude;
that riches are not evil in themselves; that the moderate desire of
them is not unlawful; that a right use of them is even meritorious.
But then you will reflect on what the nature of things, as well as the
voice of Solomon, loudly declares, that he who loveth silver, shall not
be satisfied with silver; that the capacity of the human mind is not
filled with it; that, if we pursue it with ardour, and make it the sole
or the chief object of our pursuit, it never did, and never can yield a
true and permanent satisfaction; that, if riches encrease, it is our
interest, as well as duty, not to set our hearts upon them169; and
that, finally, we are so to employ the riches, we any of us have, with
temperance and sobriety, with mercy and charity, as to make
ourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness (of the
mammon, which usually deserves to be so called) that, when we fail
(when our lives come, as they soon will do, to an end) they may
receive us into everlasting habitations170.
 SERMON XXVI.
PREACHED FEBRUARY 21, 1773.

1 Cor. vi. 20.

Therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are
God’s.

T HE words, as the expression shews, are an inference from the

preceding part of the Apostle’s discourse. The occasion was this.
He had been reasoning, towards the close of this chapter, against
fornication, or the vice of impurity; to which the Gentiles, in their
unbelieving state, had been notoriously addicted; and for which the
Corinthians (to whom he writes) were, even among the Gentiles
themselves, branded to a proverb.

The topics, he chiefly insists upon, are taken, not from nature, but
the principles of our holy religion, from the right and property, which
God hath in Christians. By virtue of their profession, their bodies and
souls are appropriated to him. Therefore, says he, glorify God in your
body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

To apprehend all the force of this conclusion, it will be proper to look

back to the arguments themselves; to consider distinctly the
substance of them, and the manner in which they are conducted.

This double attention will give us cause to admire, not the logick
only, but the address, of the learned Apostle. I say, the address;
which the occasion required: for, notwithstanding that no sin is more
opposite to our holy religion, and that therefore St. Paul, in his
epistles to the Gentile converts, gives it no quarter, yet, as became
the wisdom and sanctity of his character, he forgets not of what, and
to whom, he writes.

The vice itself is of no easy reprehension: not, for want of

arguments against it, which are innumerable and irresistible; but
from the reverence which is due to one’s self and others. An Apostle,
especially, was to respect his own dignity. He was, besides, neither
to offend the innocent, nor the guilty. Unhappily, these last, who
needed his plainest reproof, had more than the delicacy of innocence
about them, and were, of all men, the readiest to take offence. For
so it is, the licentious of all times have seared consciences, and
tender apprehensions. It alarms them to hear what they have no
scruple to commit.

The persons addressed were, especially, to be considered. These

were Corinthians: that is, a rich commercial people, voluptuous and
dissolute. They were, besides, wits and reasoners, rhetoricians and
philosophers: for under these characters they are represented to us.
And all these characters required the Apostle’s attention. As a people
addicted to pleasure, and supported in the habits of it by abounding
wealth, they were to be awakened out of their lethargy, by an
earnest and vehement expostulation: as pretending to be expert in
the arts of reasoning, they were to be convinced by strict argument:
and, as men of quick rhetorical fancies, a reasoner would find his
account in presenting his argument to them through some apt and
lively image.

Let us see, then, how the Apostle acquits himself in these nice
circumstances.

After observing that the sin he had warned the Corinthians to avoid,
was a sin against their own body; that is, was an abuse and
defilement of it, he proceeds, “What! know ye not that your body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God?
And ye are not your own; for ye are bought with a price; therefore,
glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”

The address, we see, is poignant; the reasoning, close; and the

expression, oratorical. The vehemence of his manner could not but
take their attention: his argumentation, as being founded on
Christian principles and ideas, must be conclusive to the persons
addressed; and, as conveyed in remote and decent figures, the
delicacy of their imaginations is respected by it.

The whole deserves to be opened and explained at large. Such an

explanation, will be the best discourse I can frame on this subject.

I. First, then, the Apostle asks, What! know ye not that your body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost?—This question refers to that great
Christian principle, that we live in the communion of the Holy
Ghost171; not, in the sense in which we all live and move and have
our being in God; but in a special and more exalted sense; the
Gospel teaching, that God hath given to us Christians the Holy
Spirit172, to be with us, and in us; to purify and comfort us: that we
are baptized by this spirit173, sanctified, sealed by it to the day of
redemption174.

Now this being the case, the body of a Christian, which the Holy
Ghost inhabits and sanctifies by his presence, is no longer to be
considered as a worthless fabrick, to be put to sordid uses, but as
the receptacle of God’s spirit, as the place of his residence; in a
word, as his TEMPLE and sanctuary.

The figure, you see, presents an idea the most august and
venerable. It carried this impression with it both to the Gentile and
Jewish Christians. It did so to the Gentiles, whose superstitious
reverence for their idol-temples is well known: and though many an
abominable rite was done in them, yet the nature of the Deity,
occupying this temple, which was the Holy Ghost, put an infinite
difference between him and their impure deities, the impurest of
which had engrossed the Corinthian worship. So that this contrast of
the object could not but raise their ideas, and impress the reverence,
which the Apostle would excite in them for such a temple, with full
effect on their minds175. And then to Jews, the allusion must be
singularly striking: for their supreme pride and boast was, the
temple at Jerusalem, the tabernacle of the most high, dwelling
between the cherubims, and the place of the habitation of God’s
glory176.

To both Jew and Gentile, the notion of a temple implied these two
things, 1. That the divinity was in a more especial manner present in
it: and, 2. That it was a place peculiarly set apart for his service.
Whence the effect of this representation would be, That the body,
having the Holy Spirit lodged within it, was to be kept pure and
clean for this cælestial inhabitant: and, as being dedicated to his
own use, it was not to be prophaned by any indecencies, much less
by a gross sin, which is, emphatically, a sin against the body, and by
heathens themselves accounted a pollution177 of it.

Further; the Apostle does not leave the Corinthians to collect all this
from the image presented to them, but asserts it expressly; What!
know ye not, that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, WHICH
IS IN YOU: Implying, that what they would naturally infer from their
idea of a temple, was true, in fact, that the Holy Ghost was in them;
that his actual occupancy and possession of their bodies
appropriated the use of them to himself, and excluded all sordid
practices in them, as prophane and SACRILEGIOUS. Nay, he further
adds; AND WHICH [Holy Ghost] YE HAVE OF GOD: ye have received this
adorable spirit, which is in you, from God himself; and so are obliged
to entertain this heavenly guest with all sanctity and reverence; not
only for his own sake, and for the honour he does you in dwelling in
you, but for his sake who sent him, and from whose hands ye have
received him.

This first argument, then, against the sin of uncleanness, divested of

its figure, stands thus. In consequence of your Christian profession,
ye must acknowledge, that the Holy Spirit is given to inform and
consecrate your mortal bodies; that he is actually within you; and
that he dwells and operates there, by the gracious appointment and
commission of God. Ye are therefore to consider your body as the
place of his more especial habitation; and as such, are bound to
preserve it in such purity, as the nature of so sacred a presence
demands.

This is the clear, obvious, and conclusive argument; liable to no

objection, or even cavil, from a professor of Christianity. The figure
of a temple is only employed to raise our apprehensions, and to
convey the conclusion with more force and energy to our minds. But
now,

II. The Apostle proceeds to another and distinct consideration, and

shews that the Holy Ghost is not only the actual occupier and
possessor of the body of Christians, whom the Almighty had, as it
were, forced upon them, and by his sovereign authority enjoined
them to receive, but that he was the true and rightful PROPRIETOR of
it. Ye are not your own, continues the Apostle; not merely, as “God
hath, by his spirit, taken possession of you, and sealed you up, as
his own proper goods178;” but as he hath redeemed and purchased
you, as he hath done that, by which the property ye might before
seem to have in your bodies, is actually made over and consigned to
him. For ye are bought with a price.

The expression is, again, figurative; and refers to the notions and
usages that obtained among the heathens, the Greeks especially, in
regard to personal slavery. As passionate admirers, as they were, of
liberty, every government, even the most republican, abounded in
slaves; every family had its share of them. The purchase of them, as
of brute beasts, was a considerable part of their traffick. Men and
women were bought and sold publicly in their markets: the wealth of
states and of individuals, in great measure, consisted in them. Thus
was human nature degraded by the Heathen, and I wish it might be
said, by heathens only. But my present concern is with them. It is
too sad a truth that human creatures sold themselves, or were sold
by their masters, to be employed in the basest services, even those
of luxury and of lust. This infamous practice was common through
all Greece, but was more especially a chief branch of the Corinthian
commerce. Their city was the head-quarters of prostitution, and the
great market for the supply of it.

Now to this practice the Apostle alludes, but in such a manner as

implies the severest reproof of it. His remonstrance is to this effect.
“Ye Corinthians, in your former pagan state, made no scruple to
consider your slaves as your own absolute property. Your pretence
was, that ye had bought them with a price; that is, with a piece of
money, which could be no equivalent for the natural inestimable
liberty and dignity of a fellow-creature; yet ye claimed to yourselves
their entire, unreserved service; and often condemned them to the
vilest and most ignominious.

“To turn now, says the Apostle, from these horrors to a fairer scene;
for I take advantage only of your ideas in this matter, to lead you to
just notions of your present Christian condition. God, the sole
rightful proprietor of the persons of men, left you in the state of
nature, to the enjoyment of your own liberty, with no other restraint
upon it than what was necessary to preserve so great a blessing, the
restraint of reason. Now, indeed, but still for your own infinite
benefit, he claims a stricter property in you, and demands your more
peculiar service. He first made you men, but now Christians. Still he
condescends to proceed with you in your own way, and according to
your own ideas of right and justice. He has bought you with a price:
but, merciful heaven, with what price? With that, which exceeds all
value and estimation, with the BLOOD of his only begotten Son; the
least drop of which is of more virtue than all your hecatombs, and
more precious than the treasures of the East. And for what was this
price paid? Not to enslave, much less to insult and corrupt you (as
ye wickedly served one another), but to redeem you into the
glorious liberty of the sons of God: It was, to restore you from death
to life, from servitude to freedom, from corruption to holiness, to
make to himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Say, then,
Is this ransom an equivalent for the purchase of you? And is the end
for which ye are purchased, such as ye dare complain of, or have
reason to refuse? Henceforth, then, ye are not your own: the
property of your souls and bodies is freely, justly, equitably, with
immense benefit to yourselves, and unspeakable mercy on the part
of the purchaser, transferred to God. Your whole and best service is
due to him, of strict right: what he demands of you is to serve him
in all virtue and godliness of living, and particularly to respect and
reverence yourselves; in a word, not to pollute yourselves with
forbidden lusts. In this way ye are required to serve your new lord
and master, who has the goodness to regard such service, as an
honour and glory to himself. Therefore, do your part inviolably and
conscientiously, Glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which
are God’s.”

This is the the Apostle’s idea, when drawn out and explained at
large. The reasoning is decisive, as in the former case: and the
expression admirably adapted to the circumstances of the persons
addressed. In plain words, the argument is this. God has provided,
by the sacrifice of the death of Christ, for your redemption from all
iniquity, both the service, and the wages of it. By your profession of
Christianity, and free acceptance of this inestimable benefit, freely
offered to you, ye are become in a more especial manner, his
servants: ye are bound, therefore, by every motive of duty and self-
interest to preserve yourselves in all that purity of mind and body,
which his laws require of you; and for the sake of which ye were
taken into this nearer relation to himself. The figure of being bought
with a price, was at once the most natural cover of this reasoning,
as addressed to the Corinthian Christians; and the most poignant
reproof of their country’s inhuman practice of trafficking in the
bodies and souls of men.

The force both of the figure and the reasoning is apparently much
weakened by this minute comment upon the Apostle’s words, which
yet seemed necessary to make them understood.
To draw to a point, then, the substance of what has been said, and
to conclude.

The vice which the Apostle had been arguing against, is condemned
by natural reason. But Christians are bound by additional and
peculiar considerations to abstain from it. Ye, says the Apostle, ARE
THE TEMPLES OF THE HOLY GHOST. To defile yourselves with the sins of
uncleanness is, then, to desecrate those bodies which the Holy
Ghost sanctifies by his presence. It is, in the emphatic language of
scripture, to grieve the holy Spirit, and to do despite to the spirit of
grace. It is like, nay it is infinitely worse, than polluting the
sanctuary: an abomination, which nature itself teaches all men to
avoid and execrate. It is, in the highest sense of the words,
PROPHANENESS, IMPIETY, SACRILEGE.

Again; YE ARE BOUGHT WITH A PRICE: ye are not your own, but God’s;
having been ransomed by him, your souls and bodies, when both
were lost, through the death of his Son: a price, of so immense, so
inestimable a value, that worlds are not equal to it. To dispose of
yourselves, then, in a way which he forbids and abhors: to corrupt
by your impurities that which belongs to God, which is his right and
property; to serve your lusts, when ye are redeemed at such a price
to serve God only, through Jesus Christ; is an outrage which we
poorly express, when language affords no other names for it, than
those of INGRATITUDE, INFIDELITY, INJUSTICE.

Whatever excuses a poor heathen might alledge to palliate this sin,

we Christians have none to offer. He, who knew not God, might be
led by his pride, by his passions, and even by his religion, to
conclude (as the idolatrous Corinthians seem to have done) that his
own body was for fornication; or, at most, that he was only
accountable to his own soul (if his philosophy would give him leave
to think he had one) for the misuse of it. But this language is now
out of date. The souls and bodies of us Christians are not ours, but
the Lord’s: they are occupied by his spirit, and appropriated to his
service. The conclusion follows, and cannot be inforced in stronger
terms than those of the text: therefore glorify God in your body, and in
your spirit, which are God’s.
 SERMON XXVII.
PREACHED MARCH 13, 1774.

Job xxiii. 26.

Thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the
iniquities of my youth.

T HIS is one of the complaints which Job makes in his

expostulations with the Almighty. He thought it hard measure
that he should suffer, now in his riper years, for the iniquities of his
youth. He could charge himself with no other; and therefore he
hoped that these had been forgotten.

Job is all along represented as an eminently virtuous person; so that

the iniquities of his youth might not have been numerous or
considerable: otherwise, he would not have thought it strange, that
he was made to possess his sins, long after they had been
committed. Our experience is, in this respect, so constant and
uniform, that there is no room for surprize or expostulation. All those
who have passed their youth in sin and folly, may with reason
express a very strong resentment against themselves; but have no
ground of complaint against God, when they cry out, in the anguish
of their souls: Thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me
to possess the iniquities of my youth.

The words are peculiarly strong and energetic; and may be

considered distinctly from the case of Job, as expressing this general
proposition; “That, in the order of things, an ill-spent youth derives
many lasting evils on the subsequent periods of life.” An alarming
truth! which cannot be too much considered, and should especially
be set before the young and unexperienced, in the strongest light.

The sins of youth, as distinguished from those of riper years, are

chiefly such as are occasioned by an immoderate, or an irregular
pursuit of pleasure; into which we are too easily carried in that
careless part of life; and the ill effects of which are rarely
apprehended by us, till they are severely felt.

Now, it may be said of us, that we are made to POSSESS these sins,
“When we continue under the constant sense and unrepented guilt
of them:” “When we labour under tyrannous habits, which they have
produced:” And, “when we groan under afflictions of various kinds,
which they have entailed upon us.”

In these three respects, I mean to shew how bitter those things are,
which God writeth, that is, decreeth in his justice, against the
iniquities of our youth.

I. The first, and bitterest effect of this indulgence in vicious pleasure,

is the guilt and consequent remorse of conscience, we derive from
it.

When the young mind has been tinctured in any degree with the
principles of modesty and virtue, it is with reluctance and much
apprehension, that it first ventures on the transgression of known
duty. But the vivacity and thoughtless gaiety of that early season,
encouraged by the hopes of new pleasure, and sollicited, as it
commonly happens, by ill examples, is at length tempted to make
the fatal experiment; by which guilt is contracted, and the sting of
guilt first known. The ingenuous mind reflects with shame and
compunction on this miscarriage but the passion revives; the
temptation returns, and prevails a second time, and a third; still with
growing guilt, but unhappily with something less horror; yet enough
to admonish the offender of his fault, and to embitter his
enjoyments.

As no instant mischief, perhaps, is felt from this indulgence, but the

pain of remorse, he, by degrees, imputes this effect to an over-
timorous apprehension, to his too delicate self-esteem, or to the
prejudice of education. He next confirms himself in these
sentiments, by observing the practice of the world, by listening to
the libertine talk of his companions, and by forming, perhaps, a sort
of system to himself, by which he pretends to vindicate his own
conduct: till, at length, his shame and his fears subside; he grows
intrepid in vice, and riots in all the intemperance to which youth
invites, and high spirits transport him.

In this delirious state he continues for some time. But presently the
scene changes. Although the habit continue, the enjoyment is not
the same: the keenness of appetite abates, and the cares of life
succeed to this run of pleasure.

But neither the cares nor the pleasures of life can now keep him
from reflexion. He cannot help giving way, at times, to a serious turn
of thought; and some unwelcome event or other will strike in to
promote it. Either the loss of a friend makes him grave; or a fit of
illness sinks his spirits; or it may be sufficient, that the companions
of his idle hours are withdrawn, and that he is left to himself in
longer intervals than he would chuse, of solitude and recollection.

By some or other of these means CONSCIENCE revives in him, and

with a quick resentment of the outrage she has suffered. Attempts
to suppress her indignant reproaches, are no longer effectual: she
will be heared; and her voice carries terror and consternation with it.

“She upbraids him, first, with his loss of virtue, and of that which
died with it, her own favour and approbation. She then sets before
him the indignity of having renounced all self-command, and of
having served ingloriously under every idle, every sordid appetite.
She next rises in her remonstrance; represents to him the baseness
of having attempted unsuspecting innocence; the cruelty of having
alarmed, perhaps destroyed, the honour of deserving families; the
fraud, the perfidy, the perjury, he has possibly committed in carrying
on his iniquitous purposes. The mischiefs he has done to others are
perhaps not to be repaired; and his own personal crimes remain to
be accounted for; and, if at all, can only be expiated by the bitterest
repentance. And what then, concludes this severe monitor in the
awful words of the Apostle, What fruit had ye then in those things
whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is
death179.”

Suppose now this remonstrance to take effect, and that the sinner is
at length (for what I have here represented in few words, takes
much time in doing; but suppose, I say, that the sinner is at length)
wrought upon by this remonstrance to entertain some serious
thoughts of amendment, still the consciousness of his ill desert will
attend him through every stage of life, and corrupt the sincerity of
all his enjoyments; while he knows not what will be the issue of his
crimes, or whether, indeed, he shall ever be able truly and
effectually to repent of them. For we cannot get quit of our sins, the
moment we resolve to do so: But, as I proposed to shew,

II. In the second place, we are still made to possess the iniquities of
our youth, while we labour under any remains of those tyrannous
habits, which they have produced in us.

There is scarce an object of greater compassion, than the man who

is duly sensible of his past misconduct, earnestly repents of it, and
strives to reform it, but yet is continually drawn back into his former
miscarriages, by the very habit of having so frequently fallen into
them. Such a man’s life is a perpetual scene of contradiction; a
discordant mixture of good resolutions, and weak performances; of
virtuous purposes, and shameful relapses; in a word, of sin and
sorrow. And, were he only to consult his present ease, an
uninterrupted course of vice might almost seem preferable to this
intermitting state of virtue. But the misery of this condition comes
from himself, and must be endured, for the sake of avoiding, if it
may be, one that is much worse. In the mean time, he feels most
sensibly what it is to possess the iniquities of his youth. The
temptation, perhaps, to persevere in them, is not great; he
condemns, and laments his own weakness. Still the habit prevails,
and his repentance, though constantly renewed, is unable to
disengage him from the power of it.

Thus he struggles with himself, perhaps for many years, perhaps for
a great part of his life; and in all that time is distracted by the very
inconsistency of his own conduct, and tortured by the bitterest pains
of compunction and self-abhorrence.

But let it be supposed, that the grace of God at length prevails over
the tyranny of his inveterate habits; that his repentance is
efficacious, and his virtue established. Yet the memory of his former
weakness fills him with fears and apprehensions: he finds his mind
weakened, as well as polluted, by his past sins; he has to strive
against the returning influence of them; and thus, when penitence
and tears have washed away his guilt, he still thinks himself
insecure, and trembles at the possible danger of being involved
again in it.

Add to all this, the compunction which such a man feels, when he is
obliged to discountenance in others, perhaps, by his station, to
punish those crimes in which he had so long and so freely indulged
himself: and how uneasy the very discharge of his duty is thus
rendered to him.

To say all upon this head: his acquired habits, if not corrected in due
time, may push him into crimes the most atrocious and shocking;
and, if subdued at length, will agitate his mind with long
dissatisfaction and disquiet. Repentance, if it comes at all, will come
late; and will never reinstate him fully in the serenity and composure
of his lost innocence. But,
III. Lastly, when all this is done (and more to do is not in our power)
we may still possess the iniquities of our youth, in another sense, I
mean, when we groan under the temporal afflictions of many kinds,
which they entail upon us.

So close do these sad possessions cleave to us, and so difficult it is,

contrary to what we observe of all other possessions, to divest
ourselves of them!

When PLEASURE first spreads its share for the young voluptuary, how
little did he suspect the malignity of its nature; and that under so
enchanting an appearance, it was preparing for him pains and
diseases, declining health, an early old-age, perhaps poverty, infamy,
and irreparable ruin? Yet some, or all of these calamities may
oppress him, when the pleasure is renounced, and the sin forsaken.

Youth and health are with difficulty made to comprehend how frail a
machine the human body is, and how easily impaired by excesses.
But effects will follow their causes; and intemperate pleasure is sure
to be succeeded by long pains, for which there is no prevention, and
for the most part, no remedy. Hence it is that life is shortened; and,
while it lasts, is full of languor, disease, and suffering. If by living
fast, as men call it, they only abridged the duration of their
pleasures, their folly might seem tolerable. But the case is much
worse: they treasure up to themselves actual sufferings, from
disorders which have no cure, as well as no name. And not
unfrequently it happens, according to the strong expression in the
book of Job, that a man’s bones are full of the sin of his youth, till
they lie down with him in the grave180.

Or, if health continue, his fortune suffers; it being an observation as

old as Solomon, and confirmed by constant experience ever since,
that he who loveth pleasure, shall not be rich181. His paternal
inheritance is perhaps wasted, or much reduced. And his careless
youth has lost the opportunity of those improvements which should
enable him to repair it. Or, if the abundant provision of wiser
ancestors secure him from this mischance; or, if he has had the
discretion to mix some industry and œconomy with his vices, still his
good name is blasted, and so tender a plant as this is not easily
restored to health and vigour. For it is a mistake to think that
intemperance leaves no lasting disgrace behind it. The contrary is
seen every day; and the crimes which we commit in the mad pursuit
of pleasure, bring a dishonour with them, which no age can wholly
outlive, and no virtue can repair182. It stuck close to Cæsar himself in
his highest fortune: All his laurels could neither hide his baldness
from the observation of men, nor the infamy of that commerce by
which it had been occasioned183.

All this, it may be thought, is very hard. But such is the fact, and
such the order of God’s providence. We have not the making of this
system: it is made to our hands by him who ordereth all things for
the best, how grievous soever his dispensations may sometimes
appear to us. Our duty, and our wisdom is to reflect what that
system is, and to conform ourselves to it.

If a young man, on his entrance into life, could be made duly

sensible of the dreadful evils, which, in the very constitution of
things, flow from vice, there is scarcely any temptation that could
prevail over his virtue. But his levity and inexperience expose him to
these evils: he thinks nothing of them till they arrive, and then there
is no escape from them.

To conclude: if any thing can rescue unwary youth out of the hands
of their own folly, it must be such a train of reflection as the text
offers to us. Let it sink deep into their minds, that there are indeed
bitter things decreed against the iniquities of that early age; that a
thousand temporal evils spring from that source; that vicious habits
are in themselves vexatious and tormenting; and, that, uncorrected,
and unrepented of, they fill the mind with inutterable remorse and
horror.
When the sins of youth are seen in this light, it is not by giving them
the soft name of infirmities, or by cloathing them with ideas of
pleasure, that we shall be able to reconcile the mind to them. Such
thin disguises will not conceal their true forms and natures from us.
We shall still take them for what indeed they are, for sorcerers and
assassins, the enchanters of our reason and the murderers of our
peace.

The sum of all is comprised in that memorable advice of the

Psalmist, so often quoted in this place (and, for once, let it have its
effect upon us): Keep innocency, and take heed to the thing that is
right, for that shall bring a man peace at the last184.

Or, if the scorner will not listen to this advice, it only remains to
leave him to his own sad experience; but not till we have made one
charitable effort more to provoke his attention by the caustic
apostrophe of the wise man: Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth,
and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in
the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of thine eyes: but KNOW THOU,
that, for all these things, God will bring thee into judgement185.
 SERMON XXVIII.
PREACHED MAY 28, 1769.

Ecclesiastes vii. 21, 22.

Take no heed unto all words that are spoken, lest thou hear thy
servant curse thee. For oftentimes, also, thine own heart knoweth,
that thou thyself, likewise, hast cursed others.

T HE royal author of this book has been much and justly

celebrated for his wise aphorisms and precepts on the conduct
of human life. Among others of this sort, the text may deserve to be
had in reverence; which, though simply and familiarly expressed,
could only be the reflexion of a man who had great experience of
the world, and had studied with care the secret workings of his own
mind.

The purpose of it is, to disgrace and discountenance that ANXIOUS

CURIOSITY (the result of our vanity, and a misguided self-love) which
prompts us to inquire into the sentiments and opinions of other
persons concerning us, and to give ourselves no rest till we
understand what, in their private and casual conversations, they say
of us.

“This curious disposition, says the preacher, is by all means to be

repressed, as the indulgence of it is both FOOLISH and UNJUST; as it
not only serves to embitter your own lives by the unwelcome
discoveries ye are most likely to make; but at the same time to
convict your own consciences of much iniquity; since, upon reflexion,
ye will find that ye have, yourselves, been guilty at some unguarded
hour or other, of the same malignity or flippancy towards other
men.”

In these two considerations is comprised whatever can be said to

discredit this vice: the one, you see, taken from the preacher’s
knowledge of human life; the other, from his intimate acquaintance
with the secret depravity and corruption of the human heart.

Permit me, then, to enlarge on these two topics; and, by that

means, to open to you more distinctly the WISDOM, and the EQUITY of
that conduct, which is here recommended to us, of not giving a
sollicitous attention to the frivolous and unweighed censures of other
men.

I. Take no heed, says the preacher, to all words that are spoken,
LEST THOU HEAR THY SERVANT CURSE THEE. This is the FIRST reason
which he assigns for his advice.

The force of it will be clearly apprehended, if we reflect (as the

observing author of the text had certainly done) that nothing is more
flippant, nothing more unreasonably and unaccountably petulant,
than the tongue of man.

It is so little under the controul, I do not say of candour, or of good-

nature, but of common prudence, and of common justice, that it
moves, as it were, with the slightest breath of rumour; nay, as if a
tendency to speak ill of others were instinctive to it, it waits many
times for no cause from without, but is prompted as we may say, by
its own restlessness and volubility to attack the characters of those
who chance to be the subject of discourse. Without provocation,
without malice, without so much as intentional ill-will, it echoes the
voice of the present company; vibrates with the prevailing tone of
conversation; or takes occasion from the slightest occurrence, from
some idle conceit that strikes the fancy, from the impulse of a
sudden and half-formed suggestion, that stirs within us, to exercise
its activity in a careless censure of other men.

Nay, what is more to be lamented, the sagacious observer of

mankind will find reason to conclude, that no zeal for our interests,
no kindness for our persons, shall at all times restrain this unruly
member, the tongue, from taking unwelcome freedoms with us. The
dearest friend we have, shall at some unlucky moment be seduced
by an affectation of wit, by a start of humour, by a flow of spirits, by
a sudden surmise, or indisposition, by any thing, in short, to let fall
such things of us, as have some degree of sharpness in them, and
would give us pain, if they were officiously reported to us.

This appears to have been the sentiment of the wise preacher in the
text. Avoid, says he, this impertinent curiosity, lest thou hear thy
servant curse thee; lest the very persons that live under thy roof and
are most obliged to thee, who are reasonably presumed to have the
warmest concern for thy honour and interest, and on whose fidelity
and gratitude the security and comfort of thy whole life more
immediately depends, lest even these be found to make free with
thy character. For there is a time, when even these may be carried
to speak undutifully and disrespectfully of thee.

And would any man wish to make this discovery of those, who are
esteemed to be, and, notwithstanding these occasional freedoms,
perhaps are, his true servants and affectionate friends?

For think not, when this unlucky discovery is made, that the
offended party will treat it with neglect, or be in a condition to
consider it with those allowances, that, in reason and equity, may be
required of him. No such thing: It will appear to him in the light of a
heinous and unpardonable indignity; it will occasion warm
resentments, and not only fill his mind with present disquiet, but
most probably provoke him to severe expostulations; the usual fruit
of which is, to make a deliberate and active enemy of him, who was,
before, only an incautious and indiscreet friend: at the best, it will
engender I know not what uneasy jealousies and black suspicions;
which will mislead his judgment on many occasions; and inspire an
anxious distrust, not of the faulty person himself only, but of others,
who stand in the same relation to him, and, perhaps, of all mankind.

These several ill effects may be supposed, as I said, to flow from the
discovery: and it will be useful to set the malignity of each in its true
and proper light.

1. First, then, consider that a likely, or rather infallible effect of this

discovery, is, to fire the mind with quick and passionate
resentments. And what is it to be in this state, but to lose the
enjoyment of ourselves; to have the relish of every thing, we
possess, embittered by pungent reflexions on the perfidy and
baseness of those, with whom we live, and of whom it is our
happiness to think well; to have the repose of our lives disturbed by
the most painful of all sensations, that of supposed injury from our
very friends? And for what is this wretchedness, this misery,
encountered? For the idleness of an unweighed discourse; for
something, which, if kept secret from us, had been perfectly
insignificant; for a discourtesy, which meant nothing and tended to
nothing; for a word, which came from the tongue, rather than the
heart; or, if the heart had any share in producing it, was recalled
perhaps, at least forgotten, in the moment it was spoken. And can it
be worth while to indulge a curiosity which leads to such torment,
when the object of our inquiry is itself so frivolous, as well as the
concern we have in it?

2. Another mischief attending the gratification of this impertinent

curiosity, is, That the unwelcome discoveries we make, naturally lead
to peevish complaints and severe expostulations; the effect of which
is, not only to continue and inflame the sense of the injury already
received, but to draw fresh and greater indignities on ourselves, to
push the offending party on extremes, and compell him, almost,
whether he will or no, to open acts of hostility against us. The
former ill treatment of us, whatever it might be, was perhaps
forgotten; at least it had hitherto gone no further than words, and,
while it was, or was supposed to be, undiscovered, there was no
thought of repeating the provocation, and there was time and
opportunity left for repenting of it, and for recovering a just sense of
violated duty. But when the offence is understood to be no longer a
secret, the discovery provokes fresh offences. Either pride puts the
aggressor on justifying what he has done; or the shame of
conviction, and the despair of pardon, turns indifference into hate;
ready to break out into all sorts of ill offices, and the readier,
because the strong resentment of so slight a matter, as a careless
expression, is itself, in turn, accounted an atrocious injury. And thus
a small discourtesy, which, if unnoticed, had presently died away,
shall grow and spread into a rooted ill-will, productive of gross
reciprocal hostilities, and permanent as life itself.

It is on this account that wise men have always thought it better to

connive at moderate injuries, than, by an open resentment of them,
to provoke greater: and nothing is mentioned so much to the honour
of a noble Roman186, as that, when he had the papers of an enemy
in his hands (which would certainly have discovered the disaffection
of many persons towards the republic and himself) he destroyed
them all, and prudently, as well as generously, resolved to know
nothing of what they contained. And this conduct, which was
thought so becoming a great man in public life, is unquestionably
(on the same principle of prudence and magnanimity, to say nothing
of higher motives) the duty and concern of every private man.

3. But, lastly, supposing the resentment conceived on the discovery

of an ungrateful secret, should not break out into overt acts of
hatred and revenge, still the matter would not be much mended.
For, it would surely breed a thousand uneasy suspicions, which
would prey on the hurt mind; and do irreparable injury to the moral
character, as well as embitter the whole life of him who was
unhappily conscious to them.
The experience of such neglect or infidelity in those whom we had
hitherto loved and trusted, and from whom we had expected a
suitable return of trust and love, would infallibly sour the temper,
and create a constant apprehension of future unkindness. It would
efface the native candour of the mind, and bring a cloud of jealousy
over it; which would darken our views of human life. It would make
us cold, and gloomy, and reserved; indifferent to those who
deserved best of us, and unapt for the offices of society and
friendship. The more we suppressed these sentiments, the more
would they fester and rankle within us; till the mind became all over
tenderness and sensibility, and felt equal pain from its own
groundless surmises, as from real substantial injuries. In a word, we
should have no relish of conversation, no sincere enjoyment of any
thing, we should only be miserable in, and from ourselves.

And is this a condition to be officiously courted, and sought after? Or

rather, could we suffer more from the malice of our bitterest enemy,
than we are ready to do from our own anxious curiosity to pry into
the infirmities of our friends?

Hitherto I have insisted on the danger of giving heed to all words

that are spoken, LEST THOU HEAR THY SERVANT CURSE THEE; in other
words, on the FOLLY of taking pains to make a discovery, which may
prove unwelcome in itself, and dreadful in the consequent evils it
may derive upon us.

II. It now remains that I say one word on the INJUSTICE, and want of
equity, which appears in this practice. For oftentimes also thine own
heart knoweth, that thou thyself, likewise, hast cursed others.

And as in the former case the preacher drew his remonstrance from
his knowledge of the world; so in this, he reasons from his intimate
knowledge of the human heart.

Let the friendliest, the best man living, explore his own conscience,
and then let him tell us, or rather let him tell himself, if he can, that
he has never offended in the instance here given. I suppose, on a
strict inquiry, he will certainly call to mind some peevish sentiment,
some negligent censure, some sharp reflection, which, at times, hath
escaped him, even in regard to his second self, a bosom friend.
Either he took something wrong, and some suspicious circumstance
misled him; or, he was out of health and spirits; or, he was ruffled by
some ungrateful accident; or, he had forgotten himself in an hour of
levity; or a splenetic moment had surprised him. Some or other of
these causes, he will find, had betrayed him into a sudden warmth
and asperity of expression, which he is now ashamed and sorry for,
and hath long since retracted and condemned.

Still further, at the very time when this infirmity overtook him, he
had no purposed unfriendliness, no resolved disaffection towards the
person he allowed himself to be thus free with. His tongue indeed
had offended, but his heart had scarce consented to the offence.
The next day, the next hour, perhaps, he would gladly have done all
service, possibly he would not have declined to hazard his life, for
this abused friend.

I appeal, as the wise author of the text does, to yourselves, to the

inmost recollection of your own thoughts, if ye do not know and feel
that this which I have described hath sometimes been your own
case. And what then is the inference from this self-conviction?
Certainly, that ye ought in common justice, to restrain your
inclination of prying into the unguarded moments of other men. If
your best friends have not escaped your flippancy, where is the
equity of demanding more reserve and caution towards yourself
from them? Without doubt the proper rule is to suppose, and to
forgive, these mutual indiscretions, which we are all ready to commit
towards each other. We should lay no stress on these casual
discourtesies; we should not desire to be made acquainted with
them; we should dismiss them, if some officious whisperer bring the
information to us, with indifference and neglect. To do otherwise is
not only to vex and disquiet ourselves for trifles: It is to be unfair,
uncandid, and unjust, in our dealings with others; it is to convict
ourselves of partiality and hypocrisy, For thine own heart knoweth,
that thou thyself likewise hast done the same thing.

Ye have now, then, before you the substance of those considerations

which the text offers, for the prevention of that idle and hurtful
curiosity of looking into the secret dispositions and discourses of
other men. Ye see how foolish, how dangerous, how iniquitous it is,
to give heed to all words that are spoken.

It becomes a man indeed to lay a severe check and restraint on his

own tongue. Far better would it be, if all men did so. But they who
know themselves and others, will not much expect this degree of
self-government, will not, if they be wise, be much scandalized at
the want of it; since they know the observance of it is so difficult
and sublime a virtue; since they know that nothing less than
extraordinary wisdom can, at all times, prevent the tongue of man
from running into excesses; since they are even told by an Apostle,
That if any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man187.

Let us then allow for what we cannot well help. And let this
consideration come in aid of the others, employed in the text, to
expell an inveterate folly, which prompts us to lay more stress upon
words, than such frivolous and fugitive things deserve. Let us regard
them, for the most part, but as the shaking of a leaf, or the murmur
of the idle air: they rarely merit our notice, and attention, more: or,
when they do, we should find it better to indulge our charity, than
our curiosity; I mean, to believe well of others, as long as we can,
rather than be at the pains of an anxious inquiry for a pretence to
think ill of them.

THE END OF THE SIXTH VOLUME.

Nichols and Son, Printers,
Red Lion Passage, Fleet Street, London.
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