Neuro-Cognitive Insights Into Engineering Design: Exploring Electroencephalography Predictive Associations With Task Performance

Abstract

Abstract This paper investigates the relationship between brain activity, measured by electroencephalography (EEG) data, and the performance assessment result of engineering design activities involving different cognitive processes. Employing a novel signal processing pipeline, we analyzed EEG variations of 37 subjects during two design tasks that mostly leverage, respectively, convergent and divergent thinking: the design with morphological table (task and the problem-solving task. The EEG recordings underwent meticulous artifact removal, allowing for a comprehensive investigation into the statistical relationships between frequency bands, channels, and design outcome performance metrics. The developed models linking better design outcomes with brain (de)synchronization demonstrated remarkable accuracy, precision, and recall across performance metrics for both tasks. Notably, the EEG data in theta band measured from the frontal area at both hemispheres and a left parietal/occipital channel were essential for estimating better design performance with brain desynchronization. On the contrary, the model based on brain synchronization produces precise estimations of design performance with alpha band and channels in temporal and parietal areas. These findings highlight EEG variation as a viable proxy for design performance, paving the way for more effective performance prediction models with fewer sensors. Overall, this research contributes to the emerging field of neurocognitive design assessment and underscores the potential for EEG-based predictions in engineering design tasks.