EEG-Analysis for Cognitive Failure Detection in Driving Using Type-2 Fuzzy Classifiers

The paper aims at detecting on-line cognitive failures in driving by decoding the EEG signals acquired during visual alertness, motor-planning and motor-execution phases of the driver. Visual alertness of the driver is detected by classifying the pre-processed EEG signals obtained from his pre-frontal and frontal lobes into two classes: alert and non-alert. Motor-planning performed by the driver using the pre-processed parietal signals is classified into four classes: braking, acceleration, steering control and no operation. Cognitive failures in motor-planning are determined by comparing the classified motor-planning class of the driver with the ground truth class obtained from the co-pilot through a hand-held rotary switch. Lastly, failure in motor execution is detected, when the time-delay between the onset of motor imagination and the EMG response exceeds a predefined duration. The most important aspect of the present research lies in cognitive failure classification during the planning phase. The complexity in subjective plan classification arises due to possible overlap of signal features involved in braking, acceleration and steering control. A specialized interval/general type-2 fuzzy set induced neural classifier is employed to eliminate the uncertainty in classification of motor-planning. Experiments undertaken reveal that the proposed neuro-fuzzy classifier outperforms traditional techniques in presence of external disturbances to the driver. Decoding of visual alertness and motor-execution are performed with kernelized support vector machine classifiers. An analysis reveals that at a driving speed of 64 km/hr, the lead-time is over 600 milliseconds, which offer a safe distance of 10.66 meters

Somatics Research Bibliography: A Working Tool for Somatics and Somatic Psychology

Many years ago when Somatics magazine was young, it occurred to me that it would be valuable to collect and publish research article references in Somatics magazine that were relevant to the different somatics disciplines to encourage the development of the field. There were next to no studies devoted to Somatics itself, but there were many studies devoted to the elements of somatic practices. Somatics is a multidisciplinary field. It builds on the research findings from many fields, such as anatomy, physiology, neurophysiology, psychology, dance, biomechanics, and education. The references are selected to be suggestive to the interested researcher and practitioner for their purposes and of the many possible research avenues that are yet to be explored. I have collected these research references for more than four decades. I worked originally with Psychological Abstracts, then PsychInfo, and finally, PubMed. Over that time there has been more research done on the somatic disciplines themselves. The greatest amount of research has been done on yoga (the oldest and largest of the somatic disciplines) and yoga therapy. These studies are examples of the research that can be done with the other somatics disciplines as well. We are in an era that appreciates evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence. This is evidence. These research articles are selected according to the following criteria: The article combines both body and mind either in its research design or theoretical perspective; the research design incorporates convergent measures—that is, it includes physiological, behavioral, and psychological measures; subjective and objective measures; and the research focuses on the whole organism (human) from a somatic perspective—that is, the effect of a body therapy on a psychological state. Topics addressed include biofeedback, body psychotherapy, consciousness states, electrophysiology, kinesiology, mind and body, motor processes, neural basis of motor control, neuroscience, posture and emotion, psychophysiology, and yoga/yoga therapy

The development of a SmartAbility Framework to enhance multimodal interaction for people with reduced physical ability.

Assistive technologies are an evolving market due to the number of people worldwide who have conditions resulting in reduced physical ability (also known as disability). Various classification schemes exist to categorise disabilities, as well as government legislations to ensure equal opportunities within the community. However, there is a notable absence of a process to map physical conditions to technologies in order to improve Quality of Life for this user group. This research is characterised primarily under the Human Computer Interaction (HCI) domain, although aspects of Systems of Systems (SoS) and Assistive Technologies have been applied. The thesis focuses on examples of multimodal interactions leading to the development of a SmartAbility Framework that aims to assist people with reduced physical ability by utilising their abilities to suggest interaction mediums and technologies. The framework was developed through a predominantly Interpretivism methodology approach consisting of a variety of research methods including state- of-the-art literature reviews, requirements elicitation, feasibility trials and controlled usability evaluations to compare multimodal interactions. The developed framework was subsequently validated through the involvement of the intended user community and domain experts and supported by a concept demonstrator incorporating the SmartATRS case study. The aim and objectives of this research were achieved through the following key outputs and findings: - A comprehensive state-of-the-art literature review focussing on physical conditions and their classifications, HCI concepts relevant to multimodal interaction (Ergonomics of human-system interaction, Design For All and Universal Design), SoS definition and analysis techniques involving System of Interest (SoI), and currently-available products with potential uses as assistive technologies. - A two-phased requirements elicitation process applying surveys and semi-structured interviews to elicit the daily challenges for people with reduced physical ability, their interests in technology and the requirements for assistive technologies obtained through collaboration with a manufacturer. - Findings from feasibility trials involving monitoring brain activity using an electroencephalograph (EEG), tracking facial features through Tracking Learning Detection (TLD), applying iOS Switch Control to track head movements and investigating smartglasses. - Results of controlled usability evaluations comparing multimodal interactions with the technologies deemed to be feasible from the trials. The user community of people with reduced physical ability were involved during the process to maximise the usefulness of the data obtained. - An initial SmartDisability Framework developed from the results and observations ascertained through requirements elicitation, feasibility trials and controlled usability evaluations, which was validated through an approach of semi-structured interviews and a focus group. - An enhanced SmartAbility Framework to address the SmartDisability validation feedback by reducing the number of elements, using simplified and positive terminology and incorporating concepts from Quality Function Deployment (QFD). - A final consolidated version of the SmartAbility Framework that has been validated through semi-structured interviews with additional domain experts and addressed all key suggestions. The results demonstrated that it is possible to map technologies to people with physical conditions by considering the abilities that they can perform independently without external support and the exertion of significant physical effort. This led to a realisation that the term ‘disability’ has a negative connotation that can be avoided through the use of the phrase ‘reduced physical ability’. It is important to promote this rationale to the wider community, through exploitation of the framework. This requires a SmartAbility smartphone application to be developed that allows users to input their abilities in order for recommendations of interaction mediums and technologies to be provided

Central Nervous System Tumors

Though the treatment of central nervous system (CNS) tumors has been challenging, new advances have helped us better understand the molecular and genetic makeup of many tumor types, and new chemotherapies and immunotherapies have extended survival in patients with aggressive primary CNS tumors. This book discusses pediatric and adult tumors of the CNS, the classification schemes used to categorize them, advances in surgical techniques, and several important genetic alterations found in these tumors. We hope this book contributes to the reader’s understanding of these tumors and provides the most up-to-date and cutting-edge discoveries in this exciting field

Augmentation of Brain Function: Facts, Fiction and Controversy. Volume III: From Clinical Applications to Ethical Issues and Futuristic Ideas

The final volume in this tripartite series on Brain Augmentation is entitled “From Clinical Applications to Ethical Issues and Futuristic Ideas”. Many of the articles within this volume deal with translational efforts taking the results of experiments on laboratory animals and applying them to humans. In many cases, these interventions are intended to help people with disabilities in such a way so as to either restore or extend brain function. Traditionally, therapies in brain augmentation have included electrical and pharmacological techniques. In contrast, some of the techniques discussed in this volume add specificity by targeting select neural populations. This approach opens the door to where and how to promote the best interventions. Along the way, results have empowered the medical profession by expanding their understanding of brain function. Articles in this volume relate novel clinical solutions for a host of neurological and psychiatric conditions such as stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, epilepsy, dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, autism spectrum disorders (ASD), traumatic brain injury, and disorders of consciousness. In disease, symptoms and signs denote a departure from normal function. Brain augmentation has now been used to target both the core symptoms that provide specificity in the diagnosis of a disease, as well as other constitutional symptoms that may greatly handicap the individual. The volume provides a report on the use of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in ASD with reported improvements of core deficits (i.e., executive functions). TMS in this regard departs from the present-day trend towards symptomatic treatment that leaves unaltered the root cause of the condition. In diseases, such as schizophrenia, brain augmentation approaches hold promise to avoid lengthy pharmacological interventions that are usually riddled with side effects or those with limiting returns as in the case of Parkinson’s disease. Brain stimulation can also be used to treat auditory verbal hallucination, visuospatial (hemispatial) neglect, and pain in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis. The brain acts as a telecommunication transceiver wherein different bandwidth of frequencies (brainwave oscillations) transmit information. Their baseline levels correlate with certain behavioral states. The proper integration of brain oscillations provides for the phenomenon of binding and central coherence. Brain augmentation may foster the normalization of brain oscillations in nervous system disorders. These techniques hold the promise of being applied remotely (under the supervision of medical personnel), thus overcoming the obstacle of travel in order to obtain healthcare. At present, traditional thinking would argue the possibility of synergism among different modalities of brain augmentation as a way of increasing their overall effectiveness and improving therapeutic selectivity. Thinking outside of the box would also provide for the implementation of brain-to-brain interfaces where techniques, proper to artificial intelligence, could allow us to surpass the limits of natural selection or enable communications between several individual brains sharing memories, or even a global brain capable of self-organization. Not all brains are created equal. Brain stimulation studies suggest large individual variability in response that may affect overall recovery/treatment, or modify desired effects of a given intervention. The subject’s age, gender, hormonal levels may affect an individual’s cortical excitability. In addition, this volume discusses the role of social interactions in the operations of augmenting technologies. Finally, augmenting methods could be applied to modulate consciousness, even though its neural mechanisms are poorly understood. Finally, this volume should be taken as a debate on social, moral and ethical issues on neurotechnologies. Brain enhancement may transform the individual into someone or something else. These techniques bypass the usual routes of accommodation to environmental exigencies that exalted our personal fortitude: learning, exercising, and diet. This will allow humans to preselect desired characteristics and realize consequent rewards without having to overcome adversity through more laborious means. The concern is that humans may be playing God, and the possibility of an expanding gap in social equity where brain enhancements may be selectively available to the wealthier individuals. These issues are discussed by a number of articles in this volume. Also discussed are the relationship between the diminishment and enhancement following the application of brain-augmenting technologies, the problem of “mind control” with BMI technologies, free will the duty to use cognitive enhancers in high-responsibility professions, determining the population of people in need of brain enhancement, informed public policy, cognitive biases, and the hype caused by the development of brain- augmenting approaches

Pattern Recognition

A wealth of advanced pattern recognition algorithms are emerging from the interdiscipline between technologies of effective visual features and the human-brain cognition process. Effective visual features are made possible through the rapid developments in appropriate sensor equipments, novel filter designs, and viable information processing architectures. While the understanding of human-brain cognition process broadens the way in which the computer can perform pattern recognition tasks. The present book is intended to collect representative researches around the globe focusing on low-level vision, filter design, features and image descriptors, data mining and analysis, and biologically inspired algorithms. The 27 chapters coved in this book disclose recent advances and new ideas in promoting the techniques, technology and applications of pattern recognition

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 267, January 1985

This publication is a cumulative index to the abstracts contained in the Supplements 255 through 266 of Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A Continuing Bibliography. It includes seven indexes--subject, personal author, corporate source, foreign technology, contract number, report number, and accession number

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 301)

This bibliography lists 217 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in August, 1987

Postural control and adaptation to threats to balance stability

Postural control is the ability to maintain equilibrium and orientation in a gravitational environment. It is dependent on feedback and feedforward mechanisms that generate appropriate corrective movement based on body-sway motion detected primarily by visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive sensory systems. Since information from the various senses is not always accurate (e.g. by disease) or available (e.g. with eyes closed), the postural control system must adapt to maintain stance. This thesis aimed to investigate postural control and adaptation to threats of balance. Effective approaches for the clinical measurement of postural control still remains to be developed. In the past, it has been common to investigate patients’ balance by having them stand upon compliant foam blocks with eyes open and closed since standing on foam is believed to affect the accuracy of information from cutaneous mechanoreceptors on the soles of the feet. However, when assessing balance on foam blocks with different compliances and mechanical properties, it was found that postural sway was larger on firmer compliant surfaces, which also increased the importance of visual information. Postural adaptation was also investigated by repeatedly perturbing balance using muscle vibrations. In healthy, young persons, a slow adaptive change was observed. This adaptation involved decreased costs of standing including decreased energy, body movement and muscle activity and changes to the relationship between muscle activity and movement. The characteristics of the adaptation also depended on the availability of visual information. The elderly had poor postural control with and without being perturbed but were able to adapt to improve their poor balance. However, decreased mechanoreceptive sensation in the elderly prevented them from adapting their balance to the level of younger test subjects. Sleep deprivation decreased attention and alertness and resulted in decreased postural control and adaptation. The findings in this thesis extend what is known about motor learning. The adaptive learning capability of the postural control system, and hence the accurate reconstruction of the kinematics and kinetics of movement, was dependant on ones own mechanoreceptive somatosensation and availability of visual information. Decreasing attention and alertness through sleep deprivation decreased adaptive capabilities, suggesting an important role for sleep in memory and consolidation of a new motor skill