Toward a quantitative description of the neurodynamic organizations of teams

Abstract

The goal was to develop quantitative models of the neurodynamic organizations of teams that could be used for comparing performance within and across teams and sessions. A symbolic modeling system was developed, where raw electroencephalography (EEG) signals from dyads were first transformed into second-by-second estimates of the cognitive Workload or Engagement of each person and transformed again into symbols representing the aggregated levels of the team. The resulting neurodynamic symbol streams had a persistent structure and contained segments of differential symbol expression. The quantitative Shannon entropy changes during these periods were related to speech, performance, and team responses to task changes.The dyads in an unscripted map navigation task (Human Communication Research Centre (HCRC) Map Task (MT)) developed fluctuating dynamics for Workload and Engagement, as they established their teamwork rhythms, and these were disrupted by external changes to the task. The entropy fluctuations during these disruptions differed in frequency, magnitude, and duration, and were associated with qualitative and quantitative changes in team organization and performance. These results indicate that neurodynamic models may be reliable, sensitive, and valid indicators of the changing neurodynamics of teams around which standardized quantitative models can begin to be developed.