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Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) in Neuroergonomics

Klaus Gramann1, 2, 3*
  • 1 Technische Universität Berlin, Psychology and Ergonomics, Germany
  • 2 University of Technology Sydney, Australia
  • 3 University of California, San Diego, United States

Imaging human brain dynamics during interaction with technical systems usually requires stationary setups and immobile participants to avoid movement-related artifacts from distorting the signal of interest (Gramann et al., 2014). Interaction with technical systems, however, often requires physical movement through some interface to create changes in the system and to reach the desired system state. This movement itself provides proprioceptive and vestibular information that contributes to the interaction and sometimes builds the very basis of the interaction. The brain dynamics underlying such physical interaction are hitherto unknown because of the restrictions of established brain imaging modalities. To overcome these restrictions and to image the human brain during active physical interaction with the environment, a Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI, Makeig et al., 2009; Gramann et al., 2011) method was developed to investigate the role of active movement on human brain dynamics. MoBI can be utilized to investigate the neural basis of human-system-interactions and to provide deeper insights into the impact of active behavior on cognition and brain dynamics. In two different experiments, participants interacted with dynamically moving target objects in the real world (Jungnickel & Gramann, 2016) or head to reach out and select an object in a virtual environment (Singh et al., 2018). Active movement of participants was recorded with motion capture synchronized to electroencephalography (EEG; Exp. I) and head-mounted virtual reality (VR; Exp. II). EEG data was analyzed using independent component analysis (ICA) with subsequent source localization using equivalent dipole modelling and k-means clustering. In Exp. I, EEG parameters in the time and frequency domain were computed and compared for target and standard trials for pointing and button press interactions. In Exp. II, EEG parameters were analyzed contrasting different velocities of the arm movement and levels of realism of the avatar hand. The results from different experimental MoBI approaches indicate that movements lead to changes in cognitive processing and the underlying brain dynamics. Movement computation and execution modulated brain dynamics reflecting higher computational demands during physical interaction with dynamic systems as well as stronger modulation of prediction errors for more realistic system simulations. The results indicate that the brain dynamics during physical interaction with a technical system might differ significantly from established EEG parameters in well-controlled laboratory environments. Thus, MoBI provides a new perspective into system design and improvement for interfaces that require physical movement of the user.

References

Gramann, K., Gwin, J. T., Ferris, D. P., Oie, K., Jung, T. P., Lin, C. T., ... & Makeig, S. (2011). Cognition in action: imaging brain/body dynamics in mobile humans. Reviews in the Neurosciences, 22(6), 593-608. Gramann, K., Ferris, D. P., Gwin, J., & Makeig, S. (2014). Imaging natural cognition in action. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 91(1), 22-29. Jungnickel, E., & Gramann, K. (2016). Mobile brain/body imaging (MoBI) of physical interaction with dynamically moving objects. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 10, 306. Makeig, S., Gramann, K., Jung, T. P., Sejnowski, T. J., & Poizner, H. (2009). Linking brain, mind and behavior. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 73(2), 95-100. Singh, A. K., Chen, H. T., Cheng, Y. F., King, J. T., Ko, L. W., Gramann, K., & Lin, C. T. Visual Appearance Modulates Prediction Error in Virtual Reality. In press IEEEAccess.

Keywords: Mobile Brain/Body Imaging, MoBI, mobile EEG, Mobile NIRS, Natural Cognition

Conference: 2nd International Neuroergonomics Conference, Philadelphia, PA, United States, 27 Jun - 29 Jun, 2018.

Presentation Type: Oral Presentation

Topic: Neuroergonomics

Citation: Gramann K (2019). Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) in Neuroergonomics. Conference Abstract: 2nd International Neuroergonomics Conference. doi: 10.3389/conf.fnhum.2018.227.00022

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Received: 20 Aug 2018; Published Online: 27 Sep 2019.

* Correspondence: Prof. Klaus Gramann, Technische Universität Berlin, Psychology and Ergonomics, Berlin, 10587, Germany, klaus.gramann@tu-berlin.de