Showing posts with label EEG. Show all posts
Blow Your Mind
Can chewing gum reduce stress?
Everyone experiences stress at some time or other, in some form or another—it can manifest itself as physiological, neurological, or psychological changes. How we manage stress can vary, too. One way that could potentially reduce stress is chewing gum.
Ausloos et al studied “The Effects of Chewing Gum on Physiological Stress Responses and Cognitive Recall” in their lab at University of Wisconsin - Madison, Department of Physiology. The researchers hypothesized that chewing gum would directly attenuate the elicited physiological stress response and indirectly enhance cognitive performance. They measured baseline data and stress response to audio and verbal stressors by monitoring changes in brain wave activity via electroencephalography (EEG), heart rate (HR) via electrocardiography (ECG), and blood pressure (BP).
Biopac Student Lab System hardware (MP36) and Software (BSL 4) was used to continuously measure heart rate and brain wave activity, with exact measurements being recorded at specific time points. A fully-shielded cable lead for high resolution recording of biopotentials was used along with disposable surface electrodes to measure ECG beats per minute (BPM) and EEG.
Participants were divided into two groups. Each group completed a word search task followed by a recall task, but the time at which each group received a piece of gum within the study was different: Group A received gum after the stress induced task and Group B received the gum before the stress induced task.
Contrary to the hypothesis and prior study results, results of this study concluded that chewing gum had no significant effect on the three physiological measurements upon exposure to the stressor, and did not indirectly enhance cognitive recall performance. In this study, the only significant result between groups was increased systolic BP during the recall task. No significant findings were identified for brain wave activity or HR, and chewing gum led to a marginally statistically insignificant increase in BP.
Future studies might increase the number of participants or change equipment to validate the different results of this study on chewing gum and stress.
Mobita Wireless EEG Takes a Glimpse Into the Future-Monitoring Prestimulus EEG Data
New studies examining physiological causality and electroencephalographic (EEG) correlations have provided insight on how the wearable and wireless Mobita Amplifier from BIOPAC is making an impact. A research team at the University of California, Santa Barbara, working with the American Institute of Physics, gathered data consistent with findings to conclude the psychological existence of retrocausality. The group focused on light and sound stimuli identification rates for frontal, central, and occipital parts of the brain.
The test data was divided into a pre-stimulus identification rate as well as a post-stimulus rate, to examine any correlation between standard physics and their hypothesis. No information about the stimulus should be expected to exist prior to stimulus selection. EEG recordings preceding each stimulus are analyzed to find correlations with the future selected stimulus.
During the case study, experimental subjects were fitted with a wireless EEG head cap (BIOPAC MB-32EEG-CAP-A) with 32 electrodes; the wearable BIOPAC Mobita Amplifier was utilized for its capacity to record 32 channels of high fidelity wireless EEG data. The head cap’s electrodes used paper-cotton strips soaked in water to make electrical connection with the scalp. Accompanied by BIOPAC’s AcqKnowledge research software, researchers implemented a modern and efficient process while exploring the validity of their test results and research findings.
The campus research group sought to measure electro cortical evoked potentials in the general population using random subjects with hopes of creating a basic means of measurement. Furthermore, “real-time analysis of EEG data may allow quantum events to be predicted in advance, which would affect interpretations of quantum mechanics and our notions of causality” (Baumgart et. al.). While conducting their experiment, the research group focused on keeping a furtive introduction of stimuli to test subjects equipped with the Mobita Amplifier. Stimuli were then chosen using a quantum random number generator (qRNG) and introduced to non-selected test samples.
Time durations for both light and sound stimuli vary in lengths to provide a way to differentiate the stimuli in the digital channel recording. Since sound stimuli contain longer durations than light, stimuli were recognized by digital signal length as well as being recorded by the stimulus control program. To quantify the interval of sound stimuli, the digital conduit also evaluated the voltage in parallel across the buzzer circuit to better monitor the reaction to sound stimuli. Furthermore, identification of stimulus type based on post-stimulus reaction was supported by the group’s current data for the frontal and central regions but not the occipital region.
The yielded results have lead to planning of future tests and have implicated that the existence of retrocausality is in fact measurable.
Wearable | Pitch Perfect Analysis
Pitch determines the level of influence on listener perception, physiological arousal, attention, and memory, according to new research published in Human Communication Research (June 2017). Professors at the Communication Department and Department of Translation and Language Sciences at Universitat Pompeu Fabra and the Institute for Communication Research at Indiana University conducted the joint study to examine intonation’s impact on interpersonal influence with self-report analyses and memory tests.BIOPAC’s BioNomadix helped the researchers discover the psychophysiological signs of comprehension and autonomic arousal. Physiological data aided the researchers in understanding participant attention, offering an objective analysis of the participant’s experience. Each participant identified as female and listened to both narrative and informative commercials, with varying intonation, while wearing BIOPAC’s technology. The participants' retention and cognitive processing suggest that tone does affect interpersonal influence. Commercials, with a unique level of intonation (or the most varying), proved to have the highest standards of influence. The more varying in pitch or tone, the more likely participants were to process and recall information in the commercials. BIOPAC’s BioNomadix allowed the researchers to record wireless EDA from the participants, capturing electrical responses to communication within participants to improve understandings of effective communication. Specifically, BioNomadix wirelessly recorded response data from a wearable transmitter to measure the arousal and attention of participants by capturing their skin conductance response after exposure to stimuli. This type of research will continue evolving media communication and interpersonal influence systems for anyone interested in effective communication strategies. The study’s breakthrough research offers an incentive for further study into the cognitive processing of audio communication.
Wireless │ Neural Effects of Verbal & Nonverbal Communication
EEG Data Acquisition
BIOPAC offers a
wide range of tools for recording and analyzing human or animal EEG signals.
Available hardware includes the EEG100C amplifier, which amplifies bioelectric
potentials associated with neuronal activity of the brain and can be used to
perform unipolar or bipolar EEG measurements. The amplifier output can be
switched between normal EEG and alpha wave detection. The 0.005 Hz HP
setting will support Slow Cortical Potential measurement in the EEG. The
Alpha detection mode outputs a smoothed wave with a peak indicating maximal
alpha activity (signal energy in the 8-13 Hz frequency range).
EEG can now
also be recorded from an MRI using the EEG100C-MRI smart amplifier. Data
recording is easier and final results are cleaner when using the smart
amplifier to derive EEG signals during fMRI or MRI. The unit incorporates
advance signal processing to remove spurious MRI artifacts from physiological
data. The MRI version of the EEG100C can still be sampled at the same rate as
the normal amplifier during recording. This is because the MRI related
artifacts are removed from the source, thus still leaving a perfectly recorded
EEG signal.
The amplifier
includes a number of helpful features that improve derived EEG signals. There
is less sensitivity to electrode and transducer lead placement and improved
gain selectability. The unit minimizes computer based real-time or
post-processing signal processing for faster data analysis. Cleaner data is
available as a real-time analog output for easy analysis. The EEG100C-MRI
contains the same functionality as the normal amplifier with the added
compatibility with MRI cable and filter sets.
AcqKnowledge
provides powerful EEG analysis solutions. Use AcqKnowledge software to
automatically filter raw EEG signal for Alpha, Beta, Theta, and Gamma wave
activity and provide full frequency analysis of the data. AcqKnowledge
contains powerful EEG analysis that provides a fully automated, epoch driven,
analysis of the signal. The software also will remove any EOG artifacts from
the signals.
BIOPAC also
offers a suite of wireless EEG solutions for mobile data recording. The Mobita,
BioNomadix, and B-Alert X10 units all provide powerful wireless recording
alternatives for EEG. The hardware allows for recording of EEG ranging from a
single channel to up to 32 channels of data. Combined with AcqKnowledge
software, the BIOPAC range of EEG recording products encompasses any need for
in-lab recording, real-world and MRI applications. Learn more at EEG
Applications http://www.biopac.com/eeg-electroencephalography