Abstract
Little is known about how the brain processes information while navigating without visual cues. Technical limitations recording brain activity during real-world navigation have impeded research in this field. We have developed a study paradigm that benefits from wireless EEG recording technology. Participants heard a sequence of directional commands instructing them to physically or mentally navigate a 3 × 3 m grid. Data from a sighted control and an individual with profound blindness highlight the viability of the technology. A power spectral density analysis on the alpha frequency band during the physical navigation task revealed diffuse signal fluctuations for the blind participant, while a more robust signal within occipital-parietal regions was seen for the sighted control. Both participants displayed highly similar signal fluctuations during mental navigation. This work demonstrates the feasibility of brain activity recording during navigation-related tasks using a wireless EEG system for identifying brain processing patterns associated with visual experience.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Knights Templar Eye Foundation and the National Institutes of Health (R01 EY019924-08).
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Bennett, C.R., Vall, L.D., Leite, J., Ruffini, G., Merabet, L.B. (2019). Deployment of a Mobile Wireless EEG System to Record Brain Activity Associated with Physical Navigation in the Blind: A Proof of Concept. In: Karwowski, W., Ahram, T. (eds) Intelligent Human Systems Integration 2019. IHSI 2019. Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing, vol 903. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-11051-2_5
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