Systems and methods for assessing and improving sustained attention

Inventors

Simpson, Gregory V.

Assignees

Think Now Inc • Think Now Inc

Abstract

The present invention relates to a system and method for assessing and training the quality of attentional awareness and control of an individual. The individual's attention is monitored using a neurophysiological system such as EEG while using a computer system and display that provides signals that allow the correlation of behavioral measures of attention with neurophysiological measures. The combination of those signals is a novel, accurate and reliable system for assessing any individual's true attention capabilities.

Core Innovation

A computerized attention testing system measures sustained attention capability of a user using an EEG sensor and an output device. A stimulus to be attended is presented at a flickering frequency during a time period, and an emotional distractor that is salient to the user is provided to be ignored during the time period. The system measures an infra-slow fluctuation of SSSEP substantially during the time period using a neural scanner, and computes a measure of attention capability by using the infra-slow fluctuation SSSEP of the user.

The system provides feedback to the user indicating an attentional level thereby increasing attentional awareness of the user and enabling the user to bring the attentional level towards a desired level. EEG neurophysiology is used to enable continuous monitoring of target processing and distractor suppression by relying on frequency tagging associated with steady-state stimulus evoked potentials. The described approach uses differences between attended and ignored channels to compute attention scores and combine neurophysiological measurement with behavioral responses for attention capability.

The stimulation approach uses a flickering stimulus with an attended target stimulus and a concurrent emotional distractor stimulus, each assigned different flicker frequencies in a range described as about 3–40 Hz, preferably about 15–18 Hz. The infra-slow fluctuation is described as approximately 0.01–0.2 Hz, also described as approximately 0.1–0.02 Hz, and is extracted from steady-state responses measured during the time period. The computed attention scores are then used to provide real-time or session-end feedback for attention training of sustained attention.

Claims Coverage

The independent claims are directed to a computerized attention testing method and a computerized attention testing system. Across these independent claims, there are four main inventive features: presenting a attended flickering stimulus together with an emotionally salient distractor to be ignored, measuring infra-slow fluctuation of SSSEP with a neural scanner, computing a measure of sustained attention capability from the infra-slow fluctuation SSSEP, and providing feedback that increases attentional awareness and enables moving toward a desired attentional level.

The independent claim coverage centers on EEG-based measurement of an infra-slow fluctuation of SSSEP during a sustained-attention task that includes a flickering attended stimulus and an emotionally salient distractor to be ignored, followed by computing an attention capability measure and providing feedback to increase attentional awareness toward a desired attentional level.

Stated Advantages

Documented Applications