TY - GEN
T1 - Decoding a Neurofeedback-Modulated Cognitive Arousal State to Investigate Performance Regulation by the Yerkes-Dodson Law
AU - Khazaei, Saman
AU - Amin, Md Rafiul
AU - Faghih, Rose T.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported in part by by the U.S. National Science Foundation under Grants 1942585.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 IEEE.
PY - 2021
Y1 - 2021
N2 - Enhancing the productivity of humans by regulating arousal during cognitive tasks is a challenging topic in psychology that has a great potential to transform workplaces for increased productivity and educational systems for enhanced performance. In this study, we assess the feasibility of using the Yerkes-Dodson law from psychology to improve performance during a working memory experiment. We employ a Bayesian filtering approach to track cognitive arousal and performance. In particular, by utilizing skin conductance signal recorded during a working memory experiment in the presence of music, we decode a cognitive arousal state. This is done by considering the rate of neural impulse occurrences and their amplitudes as observations for the arousal model. Similarly, we decode a performance state using the number of correct and incorrect responses, and the reaction time as binary and continuous behavioral observations, respectively. We estimate the arousal and performance states within an expectation-maximization framework. Thereafter, we design an arousal-performance model on the basis of the Yerkes-Dodson law and estimate the model parameters via regression analysis. In this experiment musical neurofeedback was used to modulate cognitive arousal. Our investigations indicate that music can be used as a mode of actuation to influence arousal and enhance the cognitive performance during working memory tasks. Our findings can have a significant impact on designing future smart workplaces and online educational systems.
AB - Enhancing the productivity of humans by regulating arousal during cognitive tasks is a challenging topic in psychology that has a great potential to transform workplaces for increased productivity and educational systems for enhanced performance. In this study, we assess the feasibility of using the Yerkes-Dodson law from psychology to improve performance during a working memory experiment. We employ a Bayesian filtering approach to track cognitive arousal and performance. In particular, by utilizing skin conductance signal recorded during a working memory experiment in the presence of music, we decode a cognitive arousal state. This is done by considering the rate of neural impulse occurrences and their amplitudes as observations for the arousal model. Similarly, we decode a performance state using the number of correct and incorrect responses, and the reaction time as binary and continuous behavioral observations, respectively. We estimate the arousal and performance states within an expectation-maximization framework. Thereafter, we design an arousal-performance model on the basis of the Yerkes-Dodson law and estimate the model parameters via regression analysis. In this experiment musical neurofeedback was used to modulate cognitive arousal. Our investigations indicate that music can be used as a mode of actuation to influence arousal and enhance the cognitive performance during working memory tasks. Our findings can have a significant impact on designing future smart workplaces and online educational systems.
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U2 - 10.1109/EMBC46164.2021.9629764
DO - 10.1109/EMBC46164.2021.9629764
M3 - Conference contribution
C2 - 34892610
AN - SCOPUS:85122532742
T3 - Proceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS
SP - 6551
EP - 6557
BT - 43rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2021
PB - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
T2 - 43rd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2021
Y2 - 1 November 2021 through 5 November 2021
ER -