Neurophysiological Assessment of Affective Experience

In the field of Affective Computing the affective experience (AX) of the user during the interaction with computers is of great interest. The automatic recognition of the affective state, or emotion, of the user is one of the big challenges. In this proposal I focus on the affect recognition via physiological and neurophysiological signals. Long‐standing evidence from psychophysiological research and more recently from research in affective neuroscience suggests that both, body and brain physiology, are able to indicate the current affective state of a subject. However, regarding the classification of AX several questions are still unanswered. The principal possibility of AX classification was repeatedly shown, but its generalisation over different task contexts, elicitating stimuli modalities, subjects or time is seldom addressed. In this proposal I will discuss a possible agenda for the further exploration of physiological and neurophysiological correlates of AX over different elicitation modalities and task contexts

Connecting Brains and Bodies: Applying Physiological Computing to Support Social Interaction

Physiological and affective computing propose methods to improve human-machine interactions by adapting machines to the users' states. Recently, social signal processing (SSP) has proposed to apply similar methods to human-human interactions with the hope of better understanding and modeling social interactions. Most of the social signals employed are facial expressions, body movements and speech, but studies using physiological signals remain scarce. In this paper, we motivate the use of physiological signals in the context of social interactions. Specifically, we review studies which have investigated the relationship between various physiological indices and social interactions. We then propose two main directions to apply physiological SSP: using physiological signals of individual users as new social cues displayed in the group and using inter-user physiology to measure properties of the interactions such as conflict and social presence. We conclude that physiological measures have the potential to enhance social interactions and to connect peopl

Content-based Publish/Subscribe in Software-defined Networks

With SDN, content-based publish/subscribe can be implemented on the network layer instead of using an application layer broker network. We present two methods realizing notification distribution with OpenFlow and P4, respectively

P4-programmable Data Plane for Content-based Publish/Subscribe

The domain-specific programming language P4 enables developers to specify how data plane devices (e.g., switches, routers) process packets. This opens up novel opportunities for efficient information dissemination at the network layer drastically reducing notification delays compared to applicationlayer publish/subscribe using broker overlay networks. In this paper, we present three different strategies that use P4 to realize content-based publish/subscribe. We start with a source routing strategy that is, then, improved to exploit and adapt a preinstalled forwarding tree by adding or removing branches if required. The most advanced strategy enables multiple forwarding trees to be dynamically stitched and adapted as needed

Design and Validation of a Mental and Social Stress Induction Protocol Towards Load-Invariant Physiology-Based Detection

International audienceStress is a major societal issue with negative impacts on health and economy. Physiological computing offers a continuous, direct, and unobtrusive method for stress level assessment and computer-assisted stress management. However, stress is a complex construct and its physiology can vary depending on its source: cognitive workload or social evaluation. To study the feasibility of physiology-based load-invariant psychosocial stress-detection, we designed a stress-induction protocol able to independently vary the relevant types of psychophysiological activity: mental and psychosocial stress. Here, we validate the efficacy of our protocol to induce psychosocial and mental stress. Our participants (N=24) had to perform a cognitive task associated with two workload conditions (low/high mental stress), in two contexts (low/high psychosocial stress), during which we recorded subjects' self-reports, behaviour, physiology and neurophysiology. Questionnaires showed that the subjectively perceived level of stress varied with the psychosocial stress induction, while perceived arousal and mental effort levels vary with mental stress induction. Behaviour and physiology further corroborated the validity of our protocol. Heart rate and skin conductance globally increased after psychosocial stress induction relative to the non-stressful condition. Moreover, we demonstrated that higher workload tasks (mental stress) led to decrease in performance and a marked increase of heart rate

Conception et validation d'un protocole pour induire du stress et le mesurer dans des signaux physiologiques

International audienceLe stress est un problème majeur pour la société de par son impact négatif sur l'économie et la santé. Les nouvelles technologies alliant informatique et physiologie permettent aujourd'hui une mesure du stress non invasive, directe et continue. Cependant, le stress est un procédé complexe dont les corrélats physiologiques peuvent varier selon son origine : psychologique ou psychosociale. Dans ce poster, nous validons la capacité de notre protocole à générer indépendamment du stress psychologique et du stress psychosocial. Nos participants (N=14) devaient réaliser une tâche cognitive associée à deux niveaux de charge mentale (faible/haut stress psychologique) dans deux conditions (faible/haut stress psychosocial) pendant laquelle nous enregistrions des données subjectives (auto-évaluations) et plus objectives (physiologiques et comportementales). Les questionnaires ont montré que le niveau de stress perçu variait avec l'induction de stress psychosocial, alors que l'état d'éveil et l'effort mental perçus variaient avec l'induction de stress psychologique. Les données comportementales et physiologiques ont corroboré la validité de notre protocole. En effet, le rythme cardiaque et la réponse électrodermale ont augmenté après l'induction du stress psychosocial. De plus, on a démontré que les tâches associées à une haute charge cognitive (stress psychologique) induisaient une baisse de la performance et une hausse du rythme cardiaque

Bacteria Hunt: Evaluating multi-paradigm BCI interaction

The multimodal, multi-paradigm brain-computer interfacing (BCI) game Bacteria Hunt was used to evaluate two aspects of BCI interaction in a gaming context. One goal was to examine the effect of feedback on the ability of the user to manipulate his mental state of relaxation. This was done by having one condition in which the subject played the game with real feedback, and another with sham feedback. The feedback did not seem to affect the game experience (such as sense of control and tension) or the objective indicators of relaxation, alpha activity and heart rate. The results are discussed with regard to clinical neurofeedback studies. The second goal was to look into possible interactions between the two BCI paradigms used in the game: steady-state visually-evoked potentials (SSVEP) as an indicator of concentration, and alpha activity as a measure of relaxation. SSVEP stimulation activates the cortex and can thus block the alpha rhythm. Despite this effect, subjects were able to keep their alpha power up, in compliance with the instructed relaxation task. In addition to the main goals, a new SSVEP detection algorithm was developed and evaluated

Autonomie in IT-Systemen : Ein Konzeptionelles Modell

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.Die Erforschung und Anwendung von autonomen Systemen ist momentan in der Informatik ein Themengebiet von wachsendem Interesse. Die Aussicht, mit autonomen Verfahren komplexe Systeme handhabbar zu machen und Kosteneinsparungen bei deren Betrieb zu erzielen, hat bereits die Softwareindustrie auf dieses Thema gelenkt und zu neuartigen Produkten geführt. Andererseits darf die Verlässlichkeit eines Systems nicht aufgrund eines autonomen Verfahrens herabgesetzt werden. Dieses Spannungsfeld ist ein Fokus verschiedener Forschungsbemühungen, um autonome Systeme alltagstauglich zu machen.Beim Gebiet der autonomen Systeme handelt es sich um ein junges Themengebiet, welches noch nicht durch allgemein akzeptierte Definitionen geprägt ist. Dadurch entsteht der Bedarf einer terminologischen Basis, die sich momentan in der Phase der Etablierung befindet. Diese Arbeit beteiligt sich an diesem Prozess und schlägt ein konzeptionelles Modell vor. Dieses Modell benennt die grundlegenden Termini und zeigt deren Zusammenhänge auf. Es beschreibt eine Interpretation der relevanten Begriffe und leitet daraus Relationen ab. Auf diese Weise fördert es das gemeinsame Verständnis und erleichtert die Kommunikation bezüglich spezifischer Fragestellungen innerhalb dieses Gebietes

Editorial: Detection and Estimation of Working Memory States and Cognitive Functions Based on Neurophysiological Measures

International audienc

Effective reduction of fluoroscopy duration by using an advanced electroanatomic-mapping system and a standardized procedural protocol for ablation of atrial fibrillation: ‘the unleaded study'

Aims It is recommended to keep exposure to ionizing radiation as low as reasonably achievable. The aim of this study was to determine whether fluoroscopy-free mapping and ablation using a standardized procedural protocol is feasible in patients undergoing pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). Methods and results Sixty consecutive patients were analysed: Thirty consecutive patients undergoing PVI using Carto3 were treated using a standardized procedural fluoroscopy protocol with X-ray being disabled after transseptal puncture (Group 1) and compared with a set of previous 30 consecutive patients undergoing PVI without a specific recommendation regarding the use of fluoroscopy (Group 2). The main outcome measures were the feasibility of fluoroscopy-free mapping and ablation, total fluoroscopy time, total dose area product (DAP), and procedure time. Sixty patients (age 60 ± 10 years, 73% male, ejection fraction 0.55 ± 0.09, left atrium 42 ± 8 mm) were included. In Group 1, total fluoroscopy time was 4.2 (2.6-5.6) min and mapping and ablation during PVI without using fluoroscopy was feasible in 29 of 30 patients (97%). In Group 2, total fluoroscopy time was 9.3 (6.4-13.9) min (P < 0.001). Total DAP was 13.2 (6.2-22.2) Gy*cm2 in Group 1 compared with 17.5 (11.7-29.7) Gy*cm2 in Group 2 (P = 0.036). Total procedure time did not differ between Groups 1 (133 ± 37 min) and 2 (134 ± 37 min, P = 0.884). Conclusion Performing mapping and ablation guided by an electroanatomic-mapping system during PVI without using fluoroscopy after transseptal puncture using a standardized procedural protocol is feasible in almost all patients and is associated with markedly decreased total fluoroscopy duration and DA