Improving the P300-Based Brain-Computer Interface by Examining the Role of Psychological Factors on Performance

The effects of neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic-lateral sclerosis (ALS) eventually render those suffering from the illness unable to communicate, leaving their cognitive function relatively unharmed and causing them to be “locked-in” to their own body. With this primary function compromised there has been an increased need for assistive communication methods such as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). Unlike several augmentative or alternative communication methods (AACs), BCIs do not require any muscular control, which makes this method ideal for people with ALS. The wealth of BCI research focuses mainly on increasing BCI performance through improving stimulus processing and manipulating paradigms. Recent research has suggested a need for studies focused on harnessing psychological qualities of BCI users, such as motivation, mood, emotion, and depression, in order to increase BCI performance through working with the user. The present studies address important issues related to P300-BCI performance: 1) the impact of mood, emotion, motivation, and depression on BCI performance were examined independently; and 2) pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral emotions were induced in order to determine the influence of emotion on BCI performance. By exploring psychological mechanisms that influence BCI performance, further insight can be gained on the best methods for improving BCI performance and increasing the number of potential BCI users. The results from Study 1 did not reveal a significant relationship between any of the four psychological factors and BCI performance. Since previous research has found a significant impact of motivation and mood on BCI performance, it may be the case that these factors only impact performance for some individuals. As this is the first study to directly investigate the impact of emotion and depression on BCI performance, future research should continue to explore these relationships. The results from Study 2 were inconclusive for the pleasant condition, since it appears the pleasant emotion manipulation was unsuccessful. The findings indicate that unpleasant emotions do not have a significant impact on BCI performance. This result is promising since it indicates that individuals should still be able to use the BCI system to communicate, even when they are experiencing unpleasant emotions. Future research should further explore the impact of pleasant emotions on BCI performance

The Effects of Working Memory on Brain-Computer Interface Performance

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and other neurodegenerative disorders can cause individuals to lose control of their muscles until they are unable to move or communicate. The development of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology has provided these individuals with an alternative method of communication that does not require muscle movement. Recent research has shown the impact psychological factors have on BCI performance and has highlighted the need for further research. Working memory is one psychological factor that could influence BCI performance. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate the relationship between working memory and brain-computer interface performance. The results indicate that both working memory and general intelligence are significant predictors of BCI performance. This suggests that working memory training could be used to improve performance on a BCI task

Competition and Collaboration, Chicago-Style

The National Health Policy Forum sponsored a site visit to Chicago, Illinois, March 16-18, 2008 to consider how competition and collaboration have shaped Chicago?s health care market. Chicago is a study of contrasts between wealth and poverty and between large, internationally known facilities and struggling community hospitals. The stressed state of the county health system concerned all of the stakeholders and may be an impetus for increased cooperation among the haves and the have nots. No longer waiting for state health reform efforts, key players were working to shore up needed providers and develop a more equitable distribution of resources, although the need for a rational planning framework appeared overwhelming. Site visit participants toured the best the city had to offer and met with those vying to deliver what was needed in their communities. They met with community, insurance, hospital, clinic, and government leaders to discuss the political, economic, and cultural forces that affected the health care market and various competitive and collaborative activities

Competition and Collaboration: The Spirit of St. Louis

The National Health Policy Forum sponsored a site visit to St. Louis, Missouri, on April 3-5, 2007, to consider the relationships between hospitals and physicians—and the degree of alignment in their financial, organizational, and policy goals—as a foundation for a new round of discussions on how to reform the health care system. St. Louis offered an interesting venue for these investigations because it is home to two major medical schools, three large hospital systems, and a physician community dominated by small practices. Site visit participants were able to converse with community, business, medical school, hospital, and physician leaders to learn more about their various competitive and collaborative activities. How this all plays out for vulnerable populations was also explored

New Corn Hybrids for Iowa

Four new lines in the cooperative Iowa corn breeding program are available for the production of several new hybrids in 1951. The lines themselves won\u27t be released this year. They\u27ll be released in single-cross combintions. The release procedure to be used is similar to that of the other north-central states and is called delayed release

Population Characteristics within the Portland-Vancouver MSA

In this article, we will explore population characteristics in different parts of the Portland MSA using Census Public Use Microsample (PUMS) data from 2005-2007. For the spatial component, we will use a Census-defined small area geography called Public Use Microsample Area (PUMA), designed to follow existing county boundaries and contain around 100,000 people. (The Census reports the one-year and three-year ACS data only to the detail of this geography in order to maintain the privacy of survey respondents and to improve the precision of the estimates.) We will sometimes focus on a couple of example PUMAs to show the interesting differences within the region. (The information shown is available for all PUMAs in this case, but for the sake of space, we will Population Characteristics within the PortlandVancouver MSA Webb Sprague, Emily Picha, Sheila Martin Institute of Metropolitan Studies, PSU May 2010 just focus on a few.