Brain Activity Based Assessment (BABA)

Abstract

Event-Related Potentials (ERP) are changes in brain activity detected using electroencephalographic (EEG) methods. One well-studied ERP is the P3b, which is generally elicited by asking participants to press a key when presented a target stimulus (e.g., “T”) that is intermixed with a much more commonly presented non-target stimulus (e.g., “S”). We hypothesized that we could assess knowledge by asking participants to solve a problem then press a key when they see the correct answer in a series of (mostly wrong) answers. Early pilot testing (four participants) suggests that the P3b shows promise in this regard. In a math test, P3b responses were produced when shown correct, but not incorrect answers. In a foreign-language vocabulary test (matching picture to foreign word), P3b responses were not produced when shown correct answers prior to studying the words, but did produce P3b responses after studying. Some notable deviations in individual participants are discussed.KeywordsEvoked PotentialElectroencephalogramEEGKnowledge Assessment