Examining brain activity while playing computer games

In this paper, an investigation and its results towards brain activity pattern recognition while playing computer games using a non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) device is presented. The main aim of the study was to analyse data recorded while participants were engaged in playing popular computer games. The major contribution of the analysis presented is the confirmation of the hypothesis that there is a connection between activities in the brain and the different categories of computer games. Three different popular computer games were used, and the recordings took place under the conditions imposed by two different environments, a noisy one (a typical open-access university computer lab) and a quiet one (a typical controlled-access university computer lab under controlled environmental parameters). Initial results, obtained after analysing the raw electro-encephalography (EEG) recorded data, suggest that there might be a significant connection between the type of activity taking place in the human brain and the type of computer game a player is engaging with

The activation of eco-driving mental models: can text messages prime drivers to use their existing knowledge and skills?

Eco-driving campaigns have traditionally assumed that drivers lack the necessary knowledge and skills and that this is something that needs rectifying. Therefore, many support systems have been designed to closely guide drivers and fine-tune their proficiency. However, research suggests that drivers already possess a substantial amount of the necessary knowledge and skills regarding eco-driving. In previous studies, participants used these effectively when they were explicitly asked to drive fuel-efficiently. In contrast, they used their safe driving skills when they were instructed to drive as they would normally. Hence, it is assumed that many drivers choose not to engage purposefully in eco-driving in their everyday lives. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of simple, periodic text messages (nine messages in 2 weeks) on drivers’ eco- and safe driving performance. It was hypothesised that provision of eco-driving primes and advice would encourage the activation of their eco-driving mental models and that comparable safety primes increase driving safety. For this purpose, a driving simulator experiment was conducted. All participants performed a pre-test drive and were then randomly divided into four groups, which received different interventions. For a period of 2 weeks, one group received text messages with eco-driving primes and another group received safety primes. A third group received advice messages on how to eco-drive. The fourth group were instructed by the experimenter to drive fuel-efficiently, immediately before driving, with no text message intervention. A post-test drive measured behavioural changes in scenarios deemed relevant to eco- and safe driving. The results suggest that the eco-driving prime and advice text messages did not have the desired effect. In comparison, asking drivers to drive fuel-efficiently led to eco-driving behaviours. These outcomes demonstrate the difficulty in changing ingrained habits. Future research is needed to strengthen such messages or activate existing knowledge and skills in other ways, so driver behaviour can be changed in cost-efficient ways

Controlling posture using a plantar pressure-based, tongue-placed tactile biofeedback system

The present paper introduces an original biofeedback system for improving human balance control, whose underlying principle consists in providing additional sensory information related to foot sole pressure distribution to the user through a tongue-placed tactile output device. To assess the effect of this biofeedback system on postural control during quiet standing, ten young healthy adults were asked to stand as immobile as possible with their eyes closed in two conditions of No-biofeedback and Biofeedback. Centre of foot pressure (CoP) displacements were recorded using a force platform. Results showed reduced CoP displacements in the Biofeedback relative to the No-biofeedback condition. The present findings evidenced the ability of the central nervous system to efficiently integrate an artificial plantar-based, tongue-placed tactile biofeedback for controlling control posture during quiet standing

Multisensory Memory for Object Identity and Location

Researchers have reported that audiovisual object presentation improves memory encoding of object identity in comparison to either auditory or visual object presentation. However, multisensory memory effects on retrieval, on object location, and of other multisensory combinations are yet unknown. We investigated the effects of visuotactile presentation on the encoding and retrieval of object identity memory and object location memory. Participants played an electronic memory card game consisting of an encoding and retrieval phase. In the encoding phase (c) they explored four game cards, which were presented on a computer screen in a two by two arrangement. Participants could touch each card to experience a Morse code presented on the screen (V) and/or via a tactile vibrator attached to the participant’s index finger (T). In the retrieval phase (r), they had to indicate for eight cards if (recognition) and where (relocation) these had been presented earlier. Compared with the visual base line (cV-rV), we found that both ‘multisensory encoding’ (cVT-rV) and ‘multisensory retrieval’ (cV-rVT) significantly improved both recognition and relocation performance. Compared with the tactile base line (cT-rT), we found no multisensory encoding or retrieval effects. This means that vision can benefit from adding touch but not vice versa. We conclude that visuotactile presentation improves memory encoding and retrieval of object identity and location. However, it is not yet clear whether these benefits are due to multisensory integration or simply due to the processing of the same information in multiple sensory modalities