Using adaptive architecture to support yoga practices: social considerations for design

The field of Adaptive Architecture aims to design built environments, which truly adapt to their occupants. ExoBuilding is an in-house prototypical example of Adaptive Architecture, which actuates in response to breathing and heart- rate of its occupants. In this work-in-progress paper, we discuss our aims to apply the technology to the practice of Yoga, in which a core aspect is controlled breathing. We explore the social considerations of deploying this novel technology, and then examine the different possibilities for interaction

Psychobiological factors of resilience and depression in late life.

In contrast to traditional perspectives of resilience as a stable, trait-like characteristic, resilience is now recognized as a multidimentional, dynamic capacity influenced by life-long interactions between internal and environmental resources. We review psychosocial and neurobiological factors associated with resilience to late-life depression (LLD). Recent research has identified both psychosocial characteristics associated with elevated LLD risk (e.g., insecure attachment, neuroticism) and psychosocial processes that may be useful intervention targets (e.g., self-efficacy, sense of purpose, coping behaviors, social support). Psychobiological factors include a variety of endocrine, genetic, inflammatory, metabolic, neural, and cardiovascular processes that bidirectionally interact to affect risk for LLD onset and course of illness. Several resilience-enhancing intervention modalities show promise for the prevention and treatment of LLD, including cognitive/psychological or mind-body (positive psychology; psychotherapy; heart rate variability biofeedback; meditation), movement-based (aerobic exercise; yoga; tai chi), and biological approaches (pharmacotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy). Additional research is needed to further elucidate psychosocial and biological factors that affect risk and course of LLD. In addition, research to identify psychobiological factors predicting differential treatment response to various interventions will be essential to the development of more individualized and effective approaches to the prevention and treatment of LLD

ExoPranayama: a biofeedback-driven actuated environment for supporting yoga breathing practices

Both breathing and internal self-awareness are an integral part of any yoga practice. We describe and discuss the development of ExoPranayama, an actuated environment that physically manifests users’ breathing in yoga. Through a series of trials with yoga practitioners and expert teachers, we explore its role in the practice of yoga. Our interview results reveal that biofeedback through the environment supported teaching and improved self-awareness, but it impacted group cohesion. Two practical uses of the technology emerged for supporting breath control in yoga: (1) biofeedback can provide new information about users’ current internal states; (2) machine-driven feedback provides users with a future state or goal, and leads to improved cohesiveness

Improving the Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the Dynamic Feedback Signal Set (DyFSS): Increasing Accessibility for the Neurodiverse

Peripheral biofeedback is an explicit learning tool that allows for real-time evaluation and control of physiological proxies by means of computerized signals. Its integration into health practice allows users to calibrate self-awareness and self regulation then apply these skills to everyday life. People with neurodevelopmental differences encounter limitations when using commercially available clinical biofeedback due to variation in their autonomic response. Principles of Universal Design dictate that biofeedback inputs and displays allow effective access and benefit for as many individuals as possible. Our Dynamic Feedback Signal Set (DyFSS, nonprovisional patent-in-process) algorithm adjusts signal processing by dynamically weighting feedback signals to the best abilities of the user, increasing the efficacy of biofeedback for the neurodiverse. The software includes an interactive graphical tutorial and quiz, a variety of graphical user interfaces to honor individual preferences and abilities, and a game that can be played by blind and hard of hearing individuals alike

InterFlowCeption: Foundations for Technological Enhancement of Interoception to Foster Flow States during Mental Work: About the potential of technologically supported body awareness to promote flow experiences during mental work

Conducting mental work by interacting with digital technology increases productivity, but strains attentional capacities and mental well-being. In consequence, many mental workers try to cultivate their fow experience. However, this is complex and difcult to achieve. Nevertheless, current technological systems do not yet provide this support in mental work. As interoception, the individual bodily awareness is an underlying mechanism of numerous fow correlates, it might ofer a new approach for fow-supporting systems in these scenarios. Results from a survey study with 176 digital workers show that adaptive regulation of interoceptive sensations correlates with higher levels of fow and engagement. Additionally, regular mindfulness practices improved workers’ adaptive regulation of bodily signals. Based on these results and integrating the current literature, this work conceptualizes three future technological support systems, such as interoceptive biofeedback, and electrical or auditory stimulation to enhance interoceptive awareness and foster fow in mental work

Evoking Physiological Synchrony and Empathy Using Social VR with Biofeedback

With the advent of consumer grade virtual reality (VR) headsets and physiological measurement devices, new possibilities for mediated social interaction emerge enabling the immersion to environments where the visual features react to the users' physiological activation. In this study, we investigated whether and how individual and interpersonally shared biofeedback (visualised respiration rate and frontal asymmetry of electroencephalography, EEG) enhance synchrony between the users' physiological activity and perceived empathy towards the other during a compassion meditation exercise carried out in a social VR setting. The study was conducted as a laboratory experiment (N = 72) employing a Unity3D-based Dynecom immersive social meditation environment and two amplifiers to collect the psychophysiological signals for the biofeedback. The biofeedback on empathy-related EEG frontal asymmetry evoked higher self-reported empathy towards the other user than the biofeedback on respiratory activation, but the perceived empathy was highest when both feedbacks were simultaneously presented. In addition, the participants reported more empathy when there was stronger EEG frontal asymmetry synchronization between the users. The presented results inform the field of affective computing on the possibilities that VR offers for different applications of empathic technologies.Peer reviewe

Immersive brain entrainment in virtual worlds: actualizing meditative states

Virtual Reality with associated hardware and software advances is becoming a viable tool in neuroscience and similar fields. Technology has been harnessed to modify a user’s state of mind for some time through different approaches. Combining this background with merged reality systems, it is possible to develop intelligent tools which can manipulate brain states and enhance training mechanisms

MeditAid:a wearable adaptive neurofeedback-based system for training mindfulness state

A recent interest in interaction design is towards the development of novel technologies emphasizing the value of mindfulness, monitoring, awareness, and self-regulation for both health and wellbeing. Whereas existing systems have focused mostly on relaxation and awareness of feelings, there has been little exploration on tools supporting the self-regulation of attention during mindfulness sitting meditation. This paper describes the design and initial evaluation of MeditAid, a wearable system integrating electroencephalography (EEG) technology with an adaptive aural entrainment for real time training of mindfulness state. The system identifies different meditative states and provides feedback to support users in deepening their meditation. We report on a study with 16 meditators about the perceived strengths and limitations of the MeditAid system. We demonstrate the benefits of binaural feedback in deepening meditative states, particularly for novice meditators

Reciprocal control in adaptive environments

Computing has become an established part of the built environment augmenting it to become adaptive. We generally assume that we control the adaptive environments we inhabit. Using an existing adaptive environment prototype, we conducted a controlled study testing how the reversal of control (where the environment attempts to influence the behaviour of the inhabitant) would affect participants. Most participants changed their respiratory behaviour in accordance with this environmental manipulation. Behavioural change occurred either consciously or unconsciously. We explain the two different paths leading participants to behavioural change: (1) We adapt the model of interbodily resonance, a process of bodily interaction observable between, for example, partners engaged in verbal dialogue, to describe the unconscious bodily response to subtle changes in the environment. (2) And we apply the model of secondary control, an adjustment of one’s own expectations to maintain the pretence of control, to describe conscious cognitive adaptation to the changing environment. We also discuss potential applications of our findings in therapeutic and other settings

Brains, Selves and Spirituality in the History of Cybernetics

Paper presented at the Templeton Workshop, ‘Transhumanism and the Meanings of Progress,’ Arizona State University, 24-25 April 200