- A new system tracks brain waves to provide a feedback system that may help people achieve stronger cognition and productivity.
- The authors of the study envision utilizing safe, noninvasive stimuli to encourage desired brain states.
- The study found that listening to music and drinking coffee can incite higher levels of beta band power in brain waves.
Many scientists hope that machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) may one day provide tools with which we can boost our sense of well-being and cognitive performance in our lives and at work.
In pursuit of this, a new study from NYU’s Tandon School of Engineering describes their MINDWATCH algorithm, which non-invasively captures brain-state data.
MINDWATCH analyzes a person’s brain activity from data collected by a wearable device on their wrist and from a headband.
In the study, the researchers prompted different brain states using what they call “safe actuators.” These included sounds, tastes, and smells.
The study investigated the promotion of “beta band” brain wave activity associated with optimal cognitive performance using safe actuators.
The researchers found that listening to music and drinking coffee were both linked to stronger beta band activity. They also tested perfume, which reduced beta band power from baseline but increased performance levels in other cognitive tests.
One of the interesting findings of the study is that AI-generated music produced stronger beta band signals than traditionally produced music.
The study is published in
Continually oscillating electrical voltages in the brain are referred to as brain waves. There are five recognized rates, or “frequencies,’ at which they oscillate from their lowest to their highest voltages:
- gamma band waves — oscillate at a frequency above 35 Hertz (Hz), or more than 35 times per second. Previous research associates gamma waves with the mental act of concentrating.
- beta band waves — oscillate from 12 to 35 Hz. This…
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