MULTICOMPARTMENT NEUROFUNCTIONAL ACTIVATION MEASURE

"Many tasks in computerized work environments can exceed a person's capacity to attend to and analyze information. Although the cognitive workload of the user is thus a prime consideration in designing improved interfaces and advanced adaptive automationstrategies, there is no good way to measure it. Accordingly, we have developed a method that uses scalp-recorded EEG signals for assessing functional brain activation during computer-mediated work. While promising, our current metric is implicitly based ona one-compartment ("central bottleneck") neurocognitive model that yields a unidimensional index of brain activation. Here we propose to extend this measure to a multicompartment model for simultaneously estimating the cognitive workload imposed ondifferent brain regions. Feasibility will be assessed in Phase I by performing analyses on our extensive existing database of human EEG recordings. The resulting multidimensional metrics would be refined and validated during Phase II. Incorporating themetrics into our automated clinical neurocognitive function testing system will facilitate rapid transition into a commercial technology. The proposed project culminates a 16-year R&D program aimed at developing a breakthrough technology to routinelymonitor cognitive brain functions in ordinary office and operational environments. The resulting metric and system will enable the first widespread use of neurocognitive workload measurements by c