Build-A-Castle MI BCI: Effect of High and Low MI BCI Exercise Intensities on Mental Fatigue and Enjoyment

Abstract

Motor Imagery Brain-computer interfaces (MI BCIs) anvendes i neurorehabilitering af cerebral parese. En ellers trættende oplevelse af rehabilitering kan forbedres ved at anvende MI BCI-øvelser i et spil for at forbedre brugernes motivation. Nogle BCI-rehabiliteringsspil integrerer ikke-BCI interaktioner mellem MI BCI øvelser, dog er virkningen af brugernes fornøjelse og mentale træthed ved at tilføje længere ikke-BCI-pauser, lignende til strukturen af fysiske træningsrutiner, endnu ikke udforsket. Dette blev undersøgt ved at teste tre forskellige spillestrukturer med 12 raske deltagere. To af spillestrukturerne blev lavet med en høj eller lav intensitet af MI BCI-øvelser, der enten havde få, men lange, ikke-BCI-pauser eller hyppige, men korte, ikke-BCI-pauser, henholdsvis. Mens den sidste spillestruktur gav deltagerne kontrol over, hvornår de skulle tage en ikke-BCI-pause. Der var ingen signifikant forskel mellem strukturerne med hensyn til fornøjelse og mental træthed, selvom deltagerne havde en signifikant bedre opgavepræstation i strukturen med høj intensitet. På trods af at de kvalitative data indikerede et gennemsnit på 8±2 MI BCI-øvelser, før deltagerne ønskede en pause fra at udføre MI BCI, viste deres handlinger forskellige resultater, når de havde kontrol over intensiteten i den tredje spillestruktur. Derfor var det foretrukne antal MI BCI-øvelsesgentagelser før en ikke-BCI-pause nødvendigvis ikke konklusiv.

Motor Imagery Brain-computer interfaces (MI BCIs) are used in neurorehabilitation of cerebral palsy. An otherwise tedious experi- ence of rehabilitation can be enhanced by applying MI BCI exercises to a game to improve users motivation. Some BCI rehabilitation games integrate non-BCI interactions between the BCI exercise repetitions, however, the impact of users’ enjoyment and mental fatigue by adding longer non-BCI breaks, similar to the structure of physical workout routines, remains unexplored. This gap was inves- tigated by testing three different game structures with 12 healthy participants. Two of the game structures were made to have a high or low intensity of MI BCI exercise repetitions, featuring either few but lengthy non-BCI breaks or frequent but brief non-BCI breaks, respectively. While the last game structure gave the participants control of when to take a non-BCI break. There was no significant difference between the structures in regards to enjoyment and mental fatigue, although participants had a significantly better task performance in the high intensity structure. Despite the qualitative data indicated an average of 8±2 MI BCI exercises before participants wanted a break from perform- ing MI BCI, their actions showed different results when they had control of the intensity in the third game structure. Therefore, the preferred number of MI BCI exercise repetitions before a non-BCI break is required was inconclusive.

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A master thesis from Aalborg University

Build-A-Castle MI BCI: Effect of High and Low MI BCI Exercise Intensities on Mental Fatigue and Enjoyment

[Build-A-Castle MI BCI: Effekten af høj og lav MI BCI træningsintensiteter på mental træthed og fornøjelse]