Brain–computer interaction for online enhancement of visuospatial attention performance

Abstract

Objective. this study on real-time decoding of visuospatial attention has two objectives: first, to reliably decode self-directed shifts of attention from electroencephalography (EEG) data, and second, to analyze whether this information can be used to enhance visuospatial performance. Visuospatial performance was measured in a target orientation discrimination task, in terms of reaction time, and error rate. Approach. Our experiment extends the Posner paradigm by introducing a new type of ambiguous cues to indicate upcoming target location. The cues are designed so that their ambiguity is imperceptible to the user. This entails endogenous shifts of attention which are truly self-directed. Two protocols were implemented to exploit the decoding of attention shifts. The first ‘adaptive’ protocol uses the decoded locus to display the target. In the second ‘warning’ protocol, the target position is defined in advance, but a warning is flashed when the target mismatches the decoded locus. Main results. Both protocols were tested in an online experiment involving ten subjects. The reaction time improved in both the adaptive and the warning protocol. The error rate was improved in the adaptive protocol only. Significance. This proof of concept study brings evidence that visuospatial brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) can be used to enhance improving human–machine interaction in situations where humans must react to off-center events in the visual field.