Multimodal Evaluation of Mental Workload Using a Hybrid EEGfNIRS Brain Computer Interface System*
Despite great advances in state of the art braincomputer interfaces (BCIs) most BCIs do not consider users' cognitive status during operation, which might have a critical role in BCI performance. This study proposes a novel multimodal BCI to concurrently measure electrical and hemodynamic activities using electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and to quantify the neural correlates of mental arithmetic induced workload at multiscale levels in two groups of old and young. We propose an oddball based Math paradigm where the subjects performed a set of mental arithmetic operations at the target intensifications. Our analysis demonstrated an increase of EEG delta and theta, a decrease of alpha, and an increase of fNIRS oxyhemoglobin (HbO) level associated with mental workload, which were significantly observed in the elder group. The changes of EEG delta, theta, and HbO were primarily found in the frontal and prefrontal areas while alpha was mainly seen in the parietal locations. The preliminary analyses suggest a set of functional brain processing, at multiscale levels, required by mental workload conditions that is more profound in the elder group.
2019 9th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering (NER)