Cognitive workload assessment during complex coordinated motor tasks in real-world environments with both healthy and clinical populations

Shawn Joshi

doi:10.17918/00000393

Neuroergonomic assessments of people with disabilities within real-world settings has been challenging due to environmental and practical limitations. As many of the interventions for people with disabilities involve physical activity or complex assistive devices, simultaneous measurement of the brain during action has been typically unattainable. Traditional room-sized neuroimaging modalities are often impractical to use to understand complex coordinated motor tasks, particularly within clinical populations and within out-of-laboratory settings. Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), as a wearable and portable neuroimaging technique, offers a unique opportunity to understand the cognitive workload of disability populations performing complex coordinated motor tasks in active and realistic settings. Cognitive workload refers to the task demands on the limited processing capacity of the brain. Often when an individual's processing capacity reaches its limit, performance breakdown and errors will occur. Among disability populations, performance errors can lead to injury and behavioral change, negatively impacting social participation. Assessing cognitive workload of people with disabilities in real world environments will aid in developing better rehabilitative assistive technologies and trainings to accomplish everyday tasks in the effort of improving autonomy and equality. The central hypothesis of this proposal is that cognitive workload as measured from the prefrontal cortex via fNIRS during complex coordinated motor tasks can be measured in real-world settings in both clinical and healthy participants and inform the effectiveness of therapeutic interventions. To achieve this, we first evaluate the extent of the impact of Developmental Coordination Disorder, a motor learning disability, using fNIRS during a novel physical task. The typical diagnosis is complex, and time-consuming, but by evaluating behavioral and neural responses to tasks measuring cognitive and physical domains, the cognitive workload implications are certainly telling of disorder impact. Secondly, we evaluate the impact of physical therapy, and the effect of its withdrawal between the healthy and clinical population to inform clinical procedure in naïve motor task learning. This approach informs the reception to and maintenance of physical capacity training, through a cognitive workload lens. Ultimately this work dictates the importance of targeted motor training, illuminating the differences in motor learning between healthy and clinical groups. Lastly, we evaluate the impact of an assistive mobility device within realistic settings, to gauge the effectiveness of an immediate augmentation amongst novice and experienced wheelchair users. Many individuals with disabilities may not demonstrate the same motor-learning capacity as typical individuals, and the use of an automatic assistive device eliminates the need for extensive training. Through the neuroergonomic approach we demonstrated the broad reach in objective evaluation of any interventional therapy, setting the stage to be utilized as a cross-comparison methodology for any intervention. The neuroergonomic approach within these three studies will enable improvements to design and evaluations of and use of future tools and systems for operators with disabilities. By combining both brain and body measures, we were able to comprehensively understand disability and the interventional impacts, along with demonstrating a key objective domain for evaluations in capacity building, and receptiveness towards assistive devices. The findings of this research can be used to inform assistive technology design, and rehabilitative guidance for continued improvement towards equality for people facing disabilities in unaccommodating environments.

Cognitive workload assessment during complex coordinated motor tasks in real-world environments with both healthy and clinical populations

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Cognitive workload assessment during complex coordinated motor tasks in real-world environments with both healthy and clinical populations

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