Computer program for control of chimpanzee discrimination test analysis and electroencephalographic response dat

Adey, W. R.

French, J. D.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

REPORT TO THE 
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION 
Research Grant NsC-502 
Neurophysiological and Behavioral Studies of Chimpanzees 
For the Semi-Annual Period 
July 1 ,  1966 t o  December 31, 1966 
Dr. J. D.  French 
Dr. W. R. Adey 
Brain Research l n s t i  tu te  
Universi ty of Cal i forn ia ,  Los Angeles 
January 6,  1967 
GPO PRICE $ 
CFSTl P R I C W )  $ 
ICODEI 
Hard copy (HC) 
Microfiche (MF) ' @- 
ff 653 July 65 
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19670008834 2020-03-16T18:58:06+00:00Z
SEMI -ANNUAL KEPORT 
NsG -502 
Considerable progress has been made on the chimpanzee program i n  
the l a s t  s i x  months. Computer con t ro l  of the Matching t o  Successive 
Symbols Device (MSSD) described i n  d e t a i l  i n  previous reports i s  now 
being establ ished i n  the new Space Science Center, and t r a i n i n g  o f  the 
chimpanzees on the device has begun. D r .  James McNew j o i n s  the s t a f f  i n  
January and w i l l  be so le l y  concerned with the development o f  the animal 
co1os.y and manipulat ion o f  the physiological  and psychological experiments. 
D e a t i l s  o f  work are given below. 
A, Development of Data Analysis Techniques 
The system programs f o r  the I B M  360-75 provided by the IGM Corpo- 
r a t i o n  have been found t o  be inadequate; thus, f u r the r  development o f  
data analysis techniques f o r  the chimpanzee program has been Impossible 
dur ing t h i s  repo r t i ng  period. This work w i l l  be f a c i l i t a t e d  on comple- 
t i o n  of the in ter fac ing o f  the newly acquired SDS 9300 computer i n  
the Data Processing Laboratory w i t h  the IBM 360-75 located i n  the UCLA 
Health Science Computing F a c i l i t y .  This l ink  w i l l  provide a two-way 
high-speed (1.2 mi l l ion 8 b i t  characters/second) informat ion path 
between the two computing f a c i l i t i e s ,  pe rm i t t i ng  i n t roduc t i on  o f  r e a l -  
t ime data i n t o  ana ly t i c  programs a t  HSCF and the r e t u r n  o f  processed 
data t o  the DPL, where i t  w i l l  be made ava i l ab le  t o  the user f o r  graphi- 
c a l  display. The in te r fac ing  i s  expected t o  be completed soon, and 
along w i t h  refinement o f  t he  system programs f o r  the IDM 360-75, wI11 
permit D r .  D.O. Walter t o  develop pat tern recogn:tion, d iscr iminant 
analysis, and other data analysis techniques for app l i ca t i on  t o  EEG 
records from the chimpanzee program. However, appl icat ions of these 
techniques have been made to other data i n  other studies, and they w i l l  
be described below. 
Work has continued on the development o f  the method of d iscr iminant 
analysis i n  which states o f  the subjects are estimated and discr iminated 
s o l e l y  on the basis o f  EEG records. 
meet the requirements of large studies i nvo l v ing  many subjects, many 
s i t ua t i ons ,  and an un l im i ted  number o f  parameters t o  be submitted t o  
the se lec t i on  procedure. For example, a study Is now nearing completion 
on f i v e  astronaut candidates' records i n  eleven behavioral s i tuat ions,  
o f f e r i n g  approximately 2100 d i f f e r e n t  parameters f o r  automatic se lec t i on  
o f  the most usefu l  ones. Methodological improvements, both t o  reduce 
computation t ime and to extend the c a p a b i l i t i e s  o f  the method, are being 
pursued. 
The program has been r e w r i t t e n  to 
Along wi th  i d e n t i f y i n g  patterns across a populat ion o f  ind iv iduals ,  
work has been done on the development o f  pa t te rn  recogni t ion techniques 
i n  which automated recogni t ion methods have been appl ied t o  data from 
- 2 -  
d i f f e r e n t  ind iv iduals  i n  a spectrum o f  behavioral s i tuat ions,  Using 
t h i s  ma t r i x  analysis method, It has been possible t o  show h igh accuracy 
i n  computer ecogni t ion o f  basic states of consciousness, from 
r e s t i n g  states t o  h igh l y  focused at tent ion.  
These techniques were used f o r  analyses o f  EEG data from f i f t y  
astronaut candidates, providrng the f i r s t  " 1  ibrary" o f  normal EEG 
basel ine data from a populat ion of healthy adul t  males. They are 
now being extended t o  a i i l ib rary i '  o f  chimpanzee EEG data. These 
techniques were a lso appl ied t o  data f rom other populations, Including 
human subjects performing d iscr iminat ion tasks, and chimpanzees playing 
an e lec t ron i c  t i c - tac - toe  game. 
there has been development and refinement of graphic methods o f  
presenting the r e s u l t s  of computer analysis. 
I n  addi t ion t o  analysis techniques, 
An unusual and fasc inat ing appl icat ion o f  these display and 
p a t t e r n  recogni t ion methods involved complete analysis o f  55 hours of 
EEG data from Astronaut F. Borman i n  the f n f t i a l  phases of the Gemini 
GT-7 f l i g h t .  These d isp lay techniques have c l e a r l y  revealed s h i f t i n g  
patterns i n  EEG records from ground based t o  f l i g h t  data. 
exempl i f ied the power of these methods i n  compressfng long record 
epochs f o r  easy i n t e r p r e t a t i o n  wi th  retent ion o f  a l l  appropriate de ta i l .  
They have 
In  add i t i on  t o  these contr ibut ions I n  fundamental and applied 
physiology, the Laboratory computing f a c i l i t y  has become p a r t  o f  a 
time-shared console operatron, I n  whlth macro- and mfcrocommand 
functions can be exercised over t h i s  computer through remote consoles 
I n  the invest igators  laboratory. This aspect of  a time-shared computer 
operat ion f o r  phys io log ica l  data analysis represents an extension of 
the s t a t e  o f  the a r t  i n  the handling o f  massive amounts of data a t  
h igh speeds, w i th  data t ransfer  rates up t o  500,000 b i t s  per second. 
I t  should be emphasized tha t  u t i l i z a t i o n  o f  the computer under NASA 
support has provided us w i t h  the means o f  development o f  input and out-  
put systems including special d isplay devices t h a t  are especia l ly  
su i ted f o r  the needs o f  the physiological  invest lgator .  I n  addi t ion,  
I t  provides an approach t o  problems i n  development o f  special ized 
f l i g h t  monitor ing computers, capable o f  ea r l y  recogni t ion of undesir- 
able trends i n  states o f  alertness, and the appearance of fa t igue and 
I n a t t e n t i v e  behavior. 
B. Study of Learninq and Behavior i n  the Chimpanzee 
The four chrmpanzees are conttnufng t o  receive basic discipline 
t ra in ing ,  as wel l  as belng condlttoned t o  accept physical  r e s t r a i r t a n d  
permi t scalp electrode attachment wi th  sk in  penetratlon. 
- 3 -  
1. Computer con t ro l  of experimental s l tuat ion,  
The const ruct lon of the Matching t o  Successlve Symbols Devlce 
(MSSD) Is complete, and the computer progrsm has been w r l t t e n  t o  
conform t o  the on- l tne t i m e - s h a r l q  conso!e system attached t o  the 
SDS 930 computero In  t ! i ! s  systan~ t h e  MSSD program may be i n ? t l a l l z e d  
by the user from the experlmental sfte v l a  the remote console system, 
whlch provides him w i t h  16 amlog  Inputs t o  the computer, 24 sense l f nes  
from the WSSD d isp lay panel t o  t h e  computer, and re lay  d r i v e r  output 
from the computer t o  the MSSG symbol dlsplay circuitry. The Invest!- 
gator a lso has access t o  an extenslve l l b r a r y  of program resident 
I n  t h e  Shared-Laboratory-Interpretive-Processor (SLIP) system. 
The MSSD p o r t f o n  o f  the SLIP system provDdes both supervlsory and 
executlve functlons f o r  the experlmental s l tuat fon, When c a l l e d  by the 
experlmenter, the program presents him w i t h  a ser les o f  questfons i n  
order t o  es tab l i sh  the experlmental parameters f o r  the ser les of 
t r l a l s .  These parameters Include the number o f  symbols t o  be employed 
( w i t h  an opt lon f o r  the user t o  select s p e c l f l c  symbols and syrhol order 
I n  l l e u  of an otherwise random select ion),  symbol Ilon" tlme, delay 
tlmes and d l g i t i z t n g  rates, as we l l  as parameters which I d e n t i f y  the 
subject, t r l a l ,  etc. fo r  bookkeeplng purposes. With the performance 
c r i t e r i a  and experfment strategy thus deflned, the executlve funct ion 
of the MSSD program s t a r t s  d i g i t l t a t i o n  of the EEG Input t o  the 
computer, and provldes the MSSD panel swltches w l t h  the required 
dlsplays. 
measurlng the correctness o f  the responses of the subject. 
subject 's  responses are I d e n t i f i e d  as a func t i on  o f  t lme so tha t  be- 
hav fo ra l  and phys io log ica l  re la t ionshlps may be temporally preserved 
f o r  analysls purposes. 
The supervisory func t i on  continuously monitors the panel 
The 
Slnce the SDS 930 computer is time-sharlng, the experlmenter 
may request displays o f  any s t a t l s t l c a l  data acquired during a 
s p e c l f l c  t r l a l ,  o r  cumulatlve data from a ser les o f  t r i a l s  wlthout 
d l s tu rb lng  the con t lnu l t y  o f  any on-golng t r l a l .  A l l  physiological  
and behavioral data are permanently stored on magnetlc tape. I n  
addlt lon, the program permits the  Invest igator t o  a l t e r  any experl- 
mental parameter a t  any tlme he desires. 
2. Experfmental des\qn. 
Under the supervision o f  Dr .  Ralph Berger, the MSSD has been 
employed under manual con t ro l  uslng two symbols w l t h  an adu l t  chim- 
panzee tha t  had been prevlously t ra ined on the t fc- tac- toe procedure 
described I n  prevlous reports. The chimpanzee was able t o  perform 
a t  an accuracy leve l  o f  about 75% a t  the end o f  the t r a l n l n g  period, 
lmplantat lon procedures for the four  new young chimpanzees have 
begun. I n  two anlmals c o r t l c a l  and subcort ical  leads have been 
- 4 -  
implanted In the brain structures On whtch dfscrete changes in EEG 
accompanying the various behavioral events durtng learning and 
performance have been shown to occur in the eGr1Der studies from 
thfs laboratory. 
Fol lowfng !.stplantation, the chimpanzees are being 'si-tapedl to the 
task u n d s  manual control by Ififtially presenting on?y a single 
stimulus symbol and subseqmntly two symbols, When the anraals have 
reached performance criteria when responding to two symbols, experl- 
mentsl control w?ll be shlfted to the computer and the number of 
symbols wOll be progressiveiy Increased until the llmlt of each ani- 
mal's capability has been reached. Concurrent EEG recordings will 
be carried out at all tOmes under both manaka1 shapOng and computer 
cont ro 1 . 
C. Developments In 6IoInstrumentatIon 
This work 1s primarfly under the direction of Mr, R.T. Kado and 
Mr. J,R, ZweVzig. 
1; Development of DC blood fiow transducinq devfces. 
Work Is continuing on the posslbfltty of chronfcally Implanting a 
DC blood flow transducer and transmitter, which will provide a means 
of studying cardiovascular function in space f 1 tght. The avai lab1 1 I ty 
of semiconductor devlces with higher galn-bandwidth products at a 
given power level opens the possibility of a mlcropower devlce capable 
of  \ong-term monitotlng. 
2. Packaqlng and mlniaturizat1on of a multi-channel biotelemetry 
system. 
Additional biotelemetry units sfmflar to those descrfbed in the 
prevtous reports have been designed and tested by Mr, Kado and Mr. 
tweizlg. 
result of the availabflity of smaller capacttors and other components. 
In addltfon, there has been a decrease In the required battery power 
due to lower current requirements in the integrated circuits used 
I n  sfgnal conditioning and multiplexing. H?gh-performance linear 
integrated circuits are used at reduced supply voltages to achleve 
accepteble performance at reduced power consumptfon. These Inte- 
grated components yield not only smaller size but also design and 
fabrication economies. It is especfally important that the battery 
wefght be reduced as this accounts for about one-third of the total 
wefght during a 24-hour recording session. 
tage o f  compatfbflfty wIth standard demodulation equipment of  htgh 
Smaller VCO and ampllfier moduies have been built as a 
The frequency-multiplexed l R l G  subcarrier system has the advan- 
- 5 -  
quallty and proven reliablllty, 
multlplexed data on a single channel tape recorder for later demulti- 
plexfng, thereby reduclng the bulk of the recelvlng and demultlplexing 
equlpment In portable recordlngs; hoxever, wrlte out 1s normally 
made through the dfscrlmlnators to an electroencephalograph or through 
a special recorder driven from the dlscrlminator outptus, Further, 
If blologlcal data w e  t o  be transmitted over long distances, the 
frequency multiplexed data are In a form compattble with telephone 
line or radlo llnk transmfsslon facllitles, 
It Is also posslble to record the 
One cfrcularly shaped telemetry unlt has been bullt to flt the 
crown o f  an Implanted monkey's head. 
by M i s s  S. Bawln I n  24-hour recordlng sessions on unrestralned animals. 
T h t s  unlt was used successfully 
Dlrect connection of the telemetered outputs to a computer for 
on-line data analysls has been made by Mr,  L. Rovner, thereby pro- 
vlding the lnvestlgator lmmedlate access to experlmental results. 
Work has contlnued on the development of smaller single-channel 
telemetry unlts whlch can be mounted on the electrode connectors on 
the anlmal's head, dsscrlbed l n  prevlous reports. These have been 
decreased in volume to the polnt where two channels mount easily on 
a sfngle electrode connectoro As many as three of  these have been 
used slmuitaneously durlng a 24-hour recordlng period, wlth the 
anlmal In hls normal llvfng quarters. 
. . ,  
. 
- 6 -  
1 
Bibliography of work done under NsG-502 support for the year January 1 ,  
1966 t o  December 31, 1966. 
Adey, W.R., Kado, ROT., and Walter, D.0, 
records from Gemini F l i g h t  GT-7 by computations to  be used In a 
thirtymday primate f l i g h t .  
Austr ia,  May 11, 1966. 
Analysis o f  b r a i n  wave 
COSPAR Space Sciences Meeting, Vienna, 
Adey, W.R. Spectral analysis techniques and pa t te rn  recogni t ion 
methods for electroencephalographic data. 
Copenhagen, Ap r i l ,  1966. Informat ion Exchange Group No. 3 ,  8/30/66. 
Data Processing Conference, 
Adey, W,R. I n t r i n s i c  organizat ion of cerebral  tissue I n  a le r t ing ,  
o r i e n t i n g  and d isc r im ina t ive  responses. MiT Intensive Study Program, 
Borlrlder, Colorado, 1966, Rockefel ler  Press, i n  press. 
Walter, D.O. and Adey, W,R, Linear and non-l inear mechanisms o f  
brain-wave generation. Ann, N.Y. Acad. Sci ci 128: 772-780, 1966. 


Neurophysiological and Behavioral Studies of Chimpanzees Semiannual Report, 1 Jul. - 31 Dec. 1966

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

NASA Technical Reports Server