Blink-Related Oscillations Provide Naturalistic Assessments of Brain Function and Cognitive Workload within Complex Real-World Multitasking Environments.

Publisher: MDPI Country of Publication: Switzerland NLM ID: 101204366 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1424-8220 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 14248220 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Sensors (Basel) Subsets: MEDLINE

Original Publication: Basel, Switzerland : MDPI, c2000-

Blinking* ; Brain Waves*/physiology; Adult ; Humans ; Cognition/physiology ; Electroencephalography/methods ; Brain/physiology

Background: There is a significant need to monitor human cognitive performance in complex environments, with one example being pilot performance. However, existing assessments largely focus on subjective experiences (e.g., questionnaires) and the evaluation of behavior (e.g., aircraft handling) as surrogates for cognition or utilize brainwave measures which require artificial setups (e.g., simultaneous auditory stimuli) that intrude on the primary tasks. Blink-related oscillations (BROs) are a recently discovered neural phenomenon associated with spontaneous blinking that can be captured without artificial setups and are also modulated by cognitive loading and the external sensory environment-making them ideal for brain function assessment within complex operational settings.
Methods: Electroencephalography (EEG) data were recorded from eight adult participants (five F, M = 21.1 years) while they completed the Multi-Attribute Task Battery under three different cognitive loading conditions. BRO responses in time and frequency domains were derived from the EEG data, and comparisons of BRO responses across cognitive loading conditions were undertaken. Simultaneously, assessments of blink behavior were also undertaken.
Results: Blink behavior assessments revealed decreasing blink rate with increasing cognitive load ( p < 0.001). Prototypical BRO responses were successfully captured in all participants ( p < 0.001). BRO responses reflected differences in task-induced cognitive loading in both time and frequency domains ( p < 0.05). Additionally, reduced pre-blink theta band desynchronization with increasing cognitive load was also observed ( p < 0.05).
Conclusion: This study confirms the ability of BRO responses to capture cognitive loading effects as well as preparatory pre-blink cognitive processes in anticipation of the upcoming blink during a complex multitasking situation. These successful results suggest that blink-related neural processing could be a potential avenue for cognitive state evaluation in operational settings-both specialized environments such as cockpits, space exploration, military units, etc. and everyday situations such as driving, athletics, human-machine interactions, etc.-where human cognition needs to be seamlessly monitored and optimized.

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NBR3-668 National Research Council Canada

Keywords: Multi-Attribute Task Battery (MATB); blink; blink-related oscillations; cognitive state; electroencephalography (EEG); human machine interaction; neuroergonomics; pilots

Date Created: 20240224 Date Completed: 20240226 Latest Revision: 20240227

20250114

PMC10892680

10.3390/s24041082

38400241