Abstract
Keeping cognitive stress at a healthy range can improve the overall quality of life: helping subjects to decrease their high levels of arousal, which will make them relaxed, and elevate their low levels of arousal, which could increase their engagement. With recent advances in wearable technologies, collected skin conductance data provides us with valuable information regarding ones' cognitive stress-related state. In this research, we aim to create a simulation environment to control a cognitive stress-related state in a closed-loop manner. Toward this goal, by analyzing the collected skin conductance data from different subjects, we model skin conductance response events as a function of simulated environmental stimuli associated with cognitive stress and relaxation. Then, we estimate the hidden stress-related state by employing Bayesian filtering. Finally, we design a fuzzy control structure to close the loop in the simulation environment. Particularly, we design two classes of controllers: (1) an inhibitory controller for reducing cognitive stress and (2) an excitatory controller for increasing cognitive stress. We extend our previous work by implementing the proposed approach on multiple subjects' profiles. Final results confirm that our simulated skin conductance responses are in agreement with experimental data. In a simulation study based on experimental data, we illustrate the feasibility of designing both excitatory and inhibitory closed-loop wearable-machine interface architectures to regulate the estimated cognitive stress state. Due to the increased ubiquity of wearable devices capable of measuring cognitive stress-related variables, the proposed architecture is an initial step to treating cognitive disorders using non-invasive brain state decoding.
Highlights
Stress-related health issues attract massive attention in the modern world [1], [2]
Implementing the proposed wearable-machine interface (WMI) architecture on selected subjects’ simulated profiles (Table 1), we present the results
CLOSED-LOOP INHIBITORY In this case, we examine the performance of the proposed WMI architecture in lowering high levels of cognitive stressrelated state caused by an high arousal environmental stimuli
Summary
Despite recent advances in technology, handling cognitive stress-related disorders is still a major problem around the globe and impacts quality of life in general [3]. Low levels of eustress, or positive cognitive stress, could negatively affects work productivity [4]. Experiencing high levels of cognitive stress while performing routines, or low cognitive engagement with the environment, may seriously affect an individual’s life [5]. The associate editor coordinating the review of this manuscript and approving it for publication was Haibin Sun. Over 60% of Americans feel that stress negatively affects their work performance [6]. Considering the fact that the brain performs better when internal cognitive stress state is within a moderate range [7], stress regulation has recently received a lot of attention. While there exist methods for managing stress, there is still a lack of reliable systems that continuously track the stress levels in individuals and automatically regulate stress levels by suggesting appropriate non-invasive solutions during daily activities [8], [9]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
