“Enheduanna—A Manifesto of Falling” Live Brain-Computer Cinema Performance: Performer and Audience Participation, Cognition and Emotional Engagement Using Multi-Brain BCI Interaction

Abstract

The fields of neural prosthetic technologies and Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) have witnessed in the past 15 years an unprecedented development, bringing together theories and methods from different scientific fields, digital media, and the arts. More in particular, artists have been amongst the pioneers of the design of relevant applications since their emergence in the 1960s, pushing the boundaries of applications in real-life contexts. With the new research, advancements, and since 2007, the new low-cost commercial-grade wireless devices, there is a new increasing number of computer games, interactive installations, and performances that involve the use of these interfaces, combining scientific, and creative methodologies. The vast majority of these works use the brain-activity of a single participant. However, earlier, as well as recent examples, involve the simultaneous interaction of more than one participants or performers with the use of Electroencephalography (EEG)-based multi-brain BCIs. In this frame, we discuss and evaluate “Enheduanna—A Manifesto of Falling,” a live brain-computer cinema performance that enables for the first time the simultaneous real-time multi-brain interaction of more than two participants, including a performer and members of the audience, using a passive EEG-based BCI system in the context of a mixed-media performance. The performance was realised as a neuroscientific study conducted in a real-life setting. The raw EEG data of seven participants, one performer and two different members of the audience for each performance, were simultaneously recorded during three live events. The results reveal that the majority of the participants were able to successfully identify whether their brain-activity was interacting with the live video projections or not. A correlation has been found between their answers to the questionnaires, the elements of the performance that they identified as most special, and the audience's indicators of attention and emotional engagement. Also, the results obtained from the performer's data analysis are consistent with the recall of working memory representations and the increase of cognitive load. Thus, these results prove the efficiency of the interaction design, as well as the importance of the directing strategy, dramaturgy and narrative structure on the audience's perception, cognitive state, and engagement.

A Vision of 6G Wireless Systems: Applications, Trends, Technologies, and Open Research Problems

“…However, the recent advent of wireless brain-computer interfaces and implants will revolutionize this field and introduce new use-case scenarios that require 6G connectivity. Such scenarios range from enabling brain-controlled movie input to fully-fledged multibrain-controlled cinema [4]. Using wireless BCI technologies, instead of smartphones, people will interact with their environment and other people using discrete devices, some worn, some implanted, and some embedded in the world around them.…”

Consumer Grade Brain Sensing for Emotion Recognition

“…Band power asymmetry was also introduced as a study feature on the effects of meditation on emotional responses [46]. Some groups explored simultaneous EEG recordings from multiple subjects such as the research on synchronized-EEGs while students were studying in the same classroom [47] and similar research on the emotional engagement between a performer and multiple audiences [48]. Other research groups have studied longitudinal EEG data from individual subjects such as an investigation involving 103-day single channel EEG data on emotion recognition in daily life [49].…”

Brain Functional Networks Study of Subacute Stroke Patients With Upper Limb Dysfunction After Comprehensive Rehabilitation Including BCI Training

“…EEG-based BCI strategies have been recently proposed as a promising stroke neurorehabilitation strategy to treat symptoms, including paralysis, cognitive disorders, and aphasia (19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25). Despite the large heterogeneity in the available literature, there is consensus that BCI-based training can help to improve UL motor function in stroke patients.…”