Abstract
The fields of neural prosthetic technologies and Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) have witnessed in the past 15 years an unprecedented development, bringing together theories and methods from different scientific fields, digital media, and the arts. More in particular, artists have been amongst the pioneers of the design of relevant applications since their emergence in the 1960s, pushing the boundaries of applications in real-life contexts. With the new research, advancements, and since 2007, the new low-cost commercial-grade wireless devices, there is a new increasing number of computer games, interactive installations, and performances that involve the use of these interfaces, combining scientific, and creative methodologies. The vast majority of these works use the brain-activity of a single participant. However, earlier, as well as recent examples, involve the simultaneous interaction of more than one participants or performers with the use of Electroencephalography (EEG)-based multi-brain BCIs. In this frame, we discuss and evaluate “Enheduanna—A Manifesto of Falling,” a live brain-computer cinema performance that enables for the first time the simultaneous real-time multi-brain interaction of more than two participants, including a performer and members of the audience, using a passive EEG-based BCI system in the context of a mixed-media performance. The performance was realised as a neuroscientific study conducted in a real-life setting. The raw EEG data of seven participants, one performer and two different members of the audience for each performance, were simultaneously recorded during three live events. The results reveal that the majority of the participants were able to successfully identify whether their brain-activity was interacting with the live video projections or not. A correlation has been found between their answers to the questionnaires, the elements of the performance that they identified as most special, and the audience's indicators of attention and emotional engagement. Also, the results obtained from the performer's data analysis are consistent with the recall of working memory representations and the increase of cognitive load. Thus, these results prove the efficiency of the interaction design, as well as the importance of the directing strategy, dramaturgy and narrative structure on the audience's perception, cognitive state, and engagement.
Highlights
The fields of neural prosthetic technologies and Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) have witnessed in the past 15 years an unprecedented development (Wolpaw and Wolpaw, 2012; He et al, 2013), bringing together theories and methods from the areas of signal processing, machine learning, computational intelligence, neuroscience, statistics, linear algebra and digital media and the arts
The analysis of the participants’ data and the comparison of the results reveal a correlation between their answers to the questionnaires and the EEG data
The inter-subject 4–40 Hz time-frequency correlation analysis showed that the correlation between the audience participants was greater and significant or highly significant during scene 4 of part 2 “You/We.”
Summary
The fields of neural prosthetic technologies and Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) have witnessed in the past 15 years an unprecedented development (Wolpaw and Wolpaw, 2012; He et al, 2013), bringing together theories and methods from the areas of signal processing, machine learning (pattern recognition), computational intelligence, neuroscience, statistics, linear algebra and digital media and the arts. Earlier, as well as recent examples, involve the simultaneous interaction of more than one participants or performers with the use of EEG-based multi-brain BCIs (Nijholt, 2015; Zioga et al, 2016). This trend coincides with the increasing interest in the fields of neuroscience and experimental psychology “in studying the mechanisms, dynamics, and processes of the interaction between multiple subjects and their brain-activity” (Zioga et al, 2015) and even more in a real-life context, away from the lab
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