MRI: Acquisition of a Movement Tracking System to Explore Embodiment and Cognition

Rhodes College, Memphis TN

Investigators

Abstract

A multidisciplinary research team will acquire a motion capture system capable of precisely tracking human body movements while simultaneously recording brain activity and eye movements. The equipment will provide detailed insight into the nervous system’s role in planning and generating movements, as well as how the human mind perceives its own body. Scientists with expertise spanning psychology, neuroscience, computer science, rehabilitation engineering, and linguistics will use the system to answer a range of foundational research questions focusing on how cognitive processes are dynamically linked with motor action. The research will drive fundamental advances in low-cost virtual reality technologies, neurorehabilitation approaches for patients with motor deficits, and assistive frameworks for supporting age-related changes in attention. The equipment will also support cross-disciplinary educational and training opportunities for K-12, undergraduate and graduate students, as well as work in social cognition biases, human-robot interaction, workplace prejudice, and interactive art. The 36-camera motion capture system with 64-channel wireless EEG and wireless eye tracking will provide detailed measurements of the moving body, including joint trajectories, motor path efficiencies, and timing information. The movement information is synchronized with brain activity recordings captured with a non-invasive wearable headcap using wireless electroencephalography (EEG) technology. EEG measures changes in electrical activity across the skull which indicate changes in brain activity levels. Planned research studies involve untethered movements to enable exploration of the concept of embodiment, which is the process by which a person develops a sense of self over an object. The researchers will explore embodiment of prosthetic limbs by amputees and embodiment of virtual bodies by users of virtual reality systems. Precise tracking of finger and mouth movements will enable the study of gestures during speech, and how they relate to the concept of embodiment, with an emphasis on how gestured speech changes with age-related declines in hearing and attention. The work will also describe how problems with embodiment lead to phantom limb pain, a pain syndrome experienced by a majority of people with amputations. The research enabled by this equipment will transform scientists’ understanding of how the brain and body interact to generate smooth and effective movements. Long-term impacts will fuel technological advances in human-computer interfaces, neurorehabilitation techniques, attentional-deficiency countermeasures, and virtual reality systems. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.