Visualization of Human Cognitive States Monitored by High-density EEG Arrays

Abstract

There is an increasing interest in monitoring mental activities associated with different cognitive states using electroencephalography (EEG). In recent work, we introduced a comparative study of EEG recordings with participants in various cognitive modalities, including open eyes, open eyes with visual stimuli, closed eyes, and meditation. We showed initial evidence that external sensory input stimulate neural activity in a range of frequency bands, while self-induced peaceful states via meditation or relaxation with closed eyes, tend to produce activity focused in the mid-range (alpha band). We applied our movie making methodology to qualitatively explore brain dynamics using the art of encephalography in a novel way. In the present study we test the technology using a 256 electrodes dense-array EEG developed by EGI. We studied cognitive modalities: meditation, closed eyes, math problem solving, and open eyes. The applied temporal and spatial Power Spectrum Density analysis is able to discriminate between these modalities.