3. Neuroscience for Beginners
Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system and its components. In our case, we will concentrate on the brain itself… for a short while.
You don’t need to study neurology to start making a neurogame, but understanding a few basics is beneficial.
Neuroanatomy : The Basics. Fact sheet by the Dana Foundation. It lists the names of each area of the brain and quickly explains its overall function.
The brain is composed, among other things, by neurons: cells which come in a variety of shapes and sizes, which gives them a different function in the brain. The exact function of neurons and their connections is still being studied and, although we generally know what area does what, understanding the exact coding behind neurons is an ongoing process.
Basic neuron parts by Jordi Grau-Moya. From left to right: dendrites, which collect other neuron impulses; the cell body, where the nucleus is allocated; the axon, the channel that sends the information to the postsynaptic cell; and finally the synapse, the union between the two cells needed for the communication. Basically, the synapse is the connection between the pre-synaptic neuron and the post-synaptic neuron.
When a neuron fires an electrical impulse, it communicates with another neuron… well, a series of neurons. The electrical activity between neurons in the brain produces electromagnetic waves (brainwaves), which can be detected by modern technology. In our case, we’re using a non-invasive electroencephalographic (EEG) brain-computer interface (BCI).
Let me explain those previous terms in bold:
Unlike the oft-cited Neuralink, we don’t open the skull to install electrodes into the brain, thus our headset is denominated “non-invasive”. On the one hand, our customers do not need to undergo surgery to play our games. On the other hand, we can only detect a limited amount of activity on the surface of the brain.
Now, to explain the other two terms:
As previously discussed, neurons firing electrical charges at each other produces electromagnetic waves, called brainwaves; which are measured in Hertz (Hz) or cycles per second. Depending on how quick these waves are produced, they can be classified thusly:
Brainwave chart by Interaxon Electromagnetic waves emanating from the brain are classified by their frequency, which is usually indicative of a certain kind of pace at which the brain is working.
These lines above are called electroencephalography (EEG) (from Greek, meaning: electric-head-writing). As you can see, each specific brainwave range can be related to a general mindset. You don’t have to train the computer to deduce this, since scientific studies have already correlated one with the other. (cf. Google Scholar)
A Brain-Computer Interface is a piece of technology that relays objective brain activity directly into the computer. In our case, a bunch of electrodes are pressed against the head and ears, they record electrical activity buzzing through your skull and skin directly into the computer.
Some require electroconductive gel to get a good reading, some are dry and give you a less accurate signal. Both use a “ground” reference to average out any electricity buzzing through your skin and “cancel out” any noise coming from skin receptors and motor neurons firing at your muscles. That last activity is sometimes used to figure out if you’re blinking, frowning, smiling or talking, among other facial and eye gestures.
In order to standardize labeling and construction of BCI, the neurotech community uses specific systems to place and label each sensor being used. In the case of the Muse 2 headband, the International 10-20 system is used. The 10-20 System is named for the method of determining electrode locations based on percentages of the distance across the skull. This ensures that electrodes are systematically placed at either 10% or 20% intervals of the total front-back or right-left distance of the head.
The Muse 2 headband is mapped thusly:
1. TP9 and TP10: Temporal Lobes Location: Just behind the ears, covering the left and right temporal lobes.
Importance: The temporal lobes are vital for emotional processing, including the interpretation of emotional speech cues, recognition of facial expressions, and formation of emotional memories. Sensors TP9 and TP10 help capture brain responses to emotional stimuli, offering insights into how emotional content is processed, whether through auditory or visual cues.
2. AF7 and AF8: Prefrontal Cortex Location: On the forehead, adjacent to the hairline, situated over the prefrontal cortex on both sides.
Importance: The prefrontal cortex is key to regulating and controlling emotions. The data from sensors AF7 and AF8 shed light on emotional regulation processes, revealing the mechanisms of emotion expression and management.
Using machine learning, one can find and store brainwave patterns to train the machine to recognize when the user is thinking a specific kind of thought or concentrating on a specific kind of sense or motion. This process requires hours and hours of taking samples before the computer can reliably pinpoint the user’s intention.
This process can be compared to your phone requiring multiple samples of your fingerprint before you can use it to unlock your phone. While almost everyone has fingerprints, it is impossible to use AI to recognize all of the fingerprints from all of the fingers from all humans on Earth. Samples must be taken because each finger is mostly unique, as is each thought. Your idea of a bear is neither exactly the same as mine, nor is it stored and produced in the exact same region of our brains.
While the sample collection process can be grueling and clinical for the casual user, it might be possible to disguise it behind a tutorial with an added narrative wherein the user is warned that the technology is learning along with the user, so as to afford some patience from the user.
Consult an expert neurogame developer or a neurology graduate for the best practices of sample collection before you start designing the tutorial game mechanics.
This is the end of the Neuroscience for Beginners chapter. If you’d like to learn more about neuroscience without taking a degree, here’s some recommended sources in order of difficulty:
- 7 Myths About The Brain You Thought Were True by ASAP Science
- Neuroscience Crash Course by CrashCourse
- Stanford Neuroscience Course by the University of Stanford
For a quick, funny and somewhat painful summary of neurotechnology’s state of the art, check:
- Brain Chips! by Some More News