Quantifying Cognitive Load using EEG during Ambulation and Postural Tasks

Margaret M. Swerdloff, Levi J. Hargrove

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

4 Scopus citations

Abstract

Cognitive load may be an important outcome measure for the effectiveness of assistive devices such as prostheses and exoskeletons, but cognitive load is not adequately assessed in part due to the indirect physiological measures traditionally used for evaluation. Robust, direct measures are now available through mobile electroencephalography (EEG), but there are no standard protocols for measuring cognitive load during ambulatory and postural activities. Here we provide a proof-of-concept protocol for measuring cognitive load using an auditory oddball cognitive task to elicit P3 event-related potentials (ERP) during three tasks: sitting, standing, and walking on a treadmill. Our results show that this protocol successfully elicited P3 in each task, with as little as 5 minutes of data collection per task. We found a difference in P3 during sitting and walking after approximately 30 minutes of task completion, indicating that the cognitive load of walking was higher than that of sitting (p =.012).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication42nd Annual International Conferences of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society
Subtitle of host publicationEnabling Innovative Technologies for Global Healthcare, EMBC 2020
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages2849-2852
Number of pages4
ISBN (Electronic)9781728119908
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2020
Event42nd Annual International Conferences of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2020 - Montreal, Canada
Duration: Jul 20 2020Jul 24 2020

Publication series

NameProceedings of the Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBS
Volume2020-July
ISSN (Print)1557-170X

Conference

Conference42nd Annual International Conferences of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2020
Country/TerritoryCanada
CityMontreal
Period7/20/207/24/20

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Signal Processing
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition
  • Health Informatics

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