Mobile Brain/Body Imaging: Challenges and opportunities for the implementation of research programs based on the 4E perspective to cognition

Abstract

Cognitive dynamics are multimodal, and they need to integrate real-time feedback to be adaptive and appropriate. However, cognition research still relies on mostly unimodal paradigms using simple motor tasks in laboratory-based static situations. This paper addresses this limitation by presenting the Mobile Brain/Body Imaging approach based on the Embodied, Embedded, Extended, and Enactive perspective, which complements traditional laboratory work while also facilitating ecologically valid applications. First, we briefly review Mobile Brain/Body Imaging technologies used to obtain functional and structural images of the Brain/Body System during natural cognition. Specifically: mobile cognitive electrophysiology, mobile functional neurovascular dynamics, and mobile behavioral measurements. Second, we review the development of Mobile Brain/Body Imaging/4E in Chile. Finally, we discuss challenges and opportunities. We conclude that although this new epistemic/methodological approach is promising, there is a need for greater portability, robust equipment, and data-analysis tools that can integrate signals from the brain/body-in-the-world system. Future experimental designs need to re-consider their underlying logic and increase their ecological validity by-perhaps-modifying the physical spaces in which experiments are conducted.

The Future of Psychotherapy Research and Neuroscience: Introducing the 4E/MoBI Approach to the Study of Patient–Therapist Interaction

“…The 4E cognition perspective, which emphasizes the role of the body in mental processes, calls for methodologies that can capture physiological data in real-world settings (Grasso-Cladera et al, 2022;Ladouce et al, 2016;Matusz et al, 2019;Menary, 2010;Parada & Rossi, 2021;Rojas-Líbano & Parada, 2019). Recent technological advancements have made this possible, particularly through the framework of Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (Gramann et al, 2011(Gramann et al, , 2014Jungnickel & Gramann, 2016;Makeig et al, 2009).…”

“…MoBI is a groundbreaking technical and methodological framework that employs lightweight, portable sensors for capturing both brain and body signals. One of its key features is the capability for wireless data transmission, allowing participants to move freely in their natural environments while still collecting valuable physiological and behavioral data (Grasso-Cladera et al, 2022; Jungnickel et al, 2019).…”

“…Another innovative aspect of MoBI is its ability to perform hyperscanning, which involves the simultaneous measurement of physiological signals from two or more participants (Babiloni et al, 2006; Dumas et al, 2011; Grasso-Cladera et al, 2022; Liu et al, 2018). This technique is especially useful for studying social cognition in more ecologically valid settings (Hari & Kujala, 2009; Konvalinka & Roepstorff, 2012).…”

“…This approach selects easily accessible individuals for the study. In order to compensate for the lack of trials in unstructured designs, we suggest creating "natural trials" using the synchronized video recordings that will have to be implemented as part of the hyperscanning system (Grasso-Cladera et al, 2022). These recordings will help identify hypothesis-driven behavioral moments, serving as temporal "blocks" for analysis.…”

The roots and blossoms of 4E cognition in Chile: Introduction to the Special Issue on 4E cognition in Chile

“…From an ecological methodological perspective, the article by Aitana Grasso-Cladera, Stefanella Costa-Cordella, Alejandra Rossi, Nikolas Fuchs, and Francisco Parada (2023), entitled “Mobile Brain/Body Imaging: Challenges and opportunities for the implementation of research programs based on the 4E perspective to cognition,” provides a theoretical and empirical review of the scientific study of cognition through multiple mobile measurement techniques jointly called MoBI 4E. These contemplate Mobile cognitive electrophysiology (Electroencephalogram, Magnetoencephalogram, and Body physiology), Mobile functional neurovascular dynamics (Functional magnetic resonance imaging, Functional near-infrared spectroscopy, and Positron emission imaging), and Mobile behavioral measurement (Audiovisual digital recordings and EyeTracker).…”