[dramatic percussion music]
- HEY, WELCOME TO "NASA LAUNCHPAD."
I'M YOUR HOST, VINCE WHITFIELD.
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD OF BIOFEEDBACK?
KNOW WHAT IT IS?
YOU PROBABLY GET THE FEEDBACK PART.
FEEDBACK IS THE RETURN OF INFORMATION
ABOUT THE RESULT OF A PROCESS OR ACTIVITY.
IT'S LIKE WHEN YOU WRITE A PAPER FOR CLASS
AND YOU TURN IT IN
AND THE TEACHER LETS YOU KNOW WHAT'S RIGHT AND WRONG WITH IT.
THAT'S FEEDBACK.
AND YOU PROBABLY ALSO KNOW THAT "BIO"
IS TALKING ABOUT LIFE OR LIFE PROCESSES.
SO BIOFEEDBACK USES PHYSICAL SIGNALS FROM OUR BODIES
TO LET US KNOW ABOUT OUR BODY'S PROCESSES.
IT CAN BE USED TO HELP TO LEARN
TO GAIN CONTROL OF THESE PROCESSES,
TO DO THINGS LIKE INCREASE RELAXATION,
RELIEVE PAIN, CONCENTRATE,
AND DEVELOP HEALTHIER
AND MORE COMFORTABLE LIFE PATTERNS.
AND BIOFEEDBACK EQUIPMENT CAN MONITOR SIGNALS
LIKE HEART RATE, MUSCLE TENSION, EVEN BRAIN WAVE ACTIVITY.
WHOA, MONITORING YOUR BRAIN WAVES?
SOUNDS KIND OF CREEPY, RIGHT? DON'T WORRY.
IT CAN'T TELL WHAT YOU'RE THINKING,
JUST THAT THERE'S ACTIVITY GOING ON IN YOUR BRAIN.
IN THE NERVE CELLS IN OUR BODIES,
INCLUDING IN THE BRAIN AND MUSCLES,
ELECTRICAL IMPULSES HELP TRANSFER SIGNALS
FROM ONE PART OF THE BODY TO THE OTHER.
LET'S LOOK AT TWO MAJOR WAYS
THESE SORTS OF ELECTRICAL SIGNALS
ARE MONITORED FOR BIOFEEDBACK.
WE'RE TALKING ABOUT EEG AND EMG.
AN EEG IS AN ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPH,
WHICH MONITORS THE ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY
OF YOUR BRAIN WAVES.
AND AN EMG IS AN ELECTROMYOGRAPH,
WHICH MEASURES ELECTRICAL ACTIVITY
IN YOUR MUSCLES.
HOW DOES THE BIOFEEDBACK PROCESS WORK?
WELL, BASICALLY, WHETHER YOU'RE USING AN EMG OR AN EEG,
YOU NEED SOME SORT OF SENSOR
THAT WILL MEASURE THE DESIRED BODY PROCESS.
THEN WHEN FLUCTUATIONS IN THE SIGNALS
ARE NOTICED BY THE BIOFEEDBACK MACHINE,
THE MACHINE LETS THE SUBJECT KNOW IN REAL TIME.
IN A LOT OF INSTANCES, THIS IS DONE BY AN AUDIBLE TONE
WHICH CHANGES ITS PITCH OR FREQUENCY.
BUT THIS FEEDBACK COULD ALSO COME
IN MANY DIFFERENT FORMS.
VERY SIMPLY, BIOFEEDBACK USES PHYSICAL SIGNALS FROM OUR BODIES
TO LET US KNOW HOW OUR BODY IS WORKING.
STILL KIND OF ABSTRACT, RIGHT?
WELL, LET'S LOOK AT AN EXAMPLE.
AND WHERE BETTER TO LOOK THAN NASA?
LET'S GET SOME FEEDBACK FROM NEIL SHAH,
ONE OF THE STUDENTS IN NASA'S
UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH PROJECT,
TO GIVE US AN OVERVIEW OF HIS TEAM'S PROJECT.
- SO WHAT WE DID HERE
WAS CREATE AN EDUCATIONAL VIDEO GAME
WHERE THE PLAYER'S EEG DATA, OR BRAIN WAVE DATA,
IS INCORPORATED IN.
THE GAME'S KIND OF SPLIT UP INTO 2 SECTIONS,
AN EDUCATIONAL PORTION AND THEN AN INTERACTIVE PORTION.
DURING THE EDUCATIONAL PORTION,
THE PLAYER IS EXPOSED TO A VIDEO WHICH HE IS EXPECTED TO LEARN.
DURING THIS PORTION,
THE PLAYER WEARS AN ELECTRODE CAP,
WHERE HIS BRAIN WAVE DATA IS MONITORED.
AND THEN IN THE INTERACTIVE PORTION,
DEPENDING ON WHETHER HE WAS PAYING ATTENTION OR NOT,
THE INTERACTIVE PORTION GETS EASIER OR HARDER.
- COOL, RIGHT?
THAT'S ALL DESIGNED BY STUDENTS.
THE GAMES WERE PROGRAMMED BY THE STUDENTS,
AND THE SYSTEM WAS BASED ON NASA STUDIES.
REMEMBER THAT THE FIRST "A" IN NASA
STANDS FOR "AERONAUTICS."
NASA RESEARCHERS HAVE DONE SOME PRETTY SERIOUS STUDIES
TO IMPROVE THE ATTENTIVENESS OF PILOTS IN FLIGHT SIMULATORS
USING BIOFEEDBACK.
BASICALLY, THE MACHINES THAT WERE READING
THE PILOTS' BRAIN WAVES
FED THAT INFORMATION BACK INTO THE FLIGHT SIMULATOR.
CHANGE IN BRAIN WAVE ACTIVITY
LED TO THE CHANGES IN THE AMOUNT OF CONTROL
THAT THE PILOTS HAD OVER THE SIMULATOR.
SO IN ORDER TO GAIN BETTER CONTROL OF THE SIMULATOR,
THEY HAD TO TEACH THEMSELVES TO CONTROL THEIR BRAIN WAVES.
WELL, YOU MIGHT NOT BE FLYING ANY FLIGHT SIMULATORS,
BUT I'LL BET YOU PLAY VIDEO GAMES, RIGHT?
AND SOME OF THE NEW GAMES ACTUALLY INCORPORATE
YOUR BODY MOVEMENTS INTO THE GAME.
NASA RESEARCHERS HAVE ALSO DONE SOME BIOFEEDBACK TRAINING
USING VIDEO GAMES TO HELP TREAT CHILDREN
WITH ATTENTION DEFICIT/ HYPERACTIVITY DISORDER, ADHD.
WITH ENOUGH TIME AND TRAINING,
CHANGES IN THE PATIENT'S BRAIN WAVES
CAN BECOME AUTOMATIC,
AND THAT CAN LEAD TO IMPROVED BEHAVIOR
AND ATTENTION ALL THE TIME.
HERE'S ROBERT GOUGELET, ANOTHER MEMBER OF THE TEAM,
WITH MORE.
- IN ESSENCE, AN INDIVIDUAL COULD ALTER
THE WAY THEIR BRAIN WORKS.
THIS IS THE CORE CONCEPT BEHIND BIOFEEDBACK,
WHERE ADHD PATIENTS CAN ACTUALLY MANIPULATE THEIR BRAIN WAVES
AND PRODUCE MORE NORMAL BRAIN WAVE PATTERNS,
ALTHOUGH IN OUR GAME, WE TRY TO STRAY
FROM THE BIOFEEDBACK PARADIGM,
AND REALLY, ALL WE'RE ASKING THE USER TO DO
IS TO PAY MORE ATTENTION TO THE INSTRUCTIONAL CONTENT.
- PAY MORE ATTENTION.
YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD THAT FROM YOUR TEACHERS A LOT, RIGHT?
AND DEPENDING ON THE TEACHER, IT MIGHT BE HARD TO DO.
BUT IMAGINE IF YOU WERE GIVEN THE OPPORTUNITY
TO USE A SYSTEM LIKE THIS,
WHERE YOU GOT TO PLAY GAMES IN AN EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT.
YOU'D PROBABLY PAY MORE ATTENTION, RIGHT?
SO IT SEEMS LIKE THESE STUDENTS ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
PROFESSIONAL ATHLETES SPEND A LOT OF TIME
PRACTICING THEIR TECHNIQUE,
TO THE POINT THAT THEY DEVELOP WHAT'S CALLED "MUSCLE MEMORY."
BASICALLY, THROUGH REPETITION OF A MOTION OR ACTION,
THEY NO LONGER HAVE TO THINK ABOUT THE MOTION OR ACTION
AND MERELY HAVE TO REACT AND PERFORM APPROPRIATELY.
NASA RESEARCHERS HAVE EVEN BROUGHT BIOFEEDBACK
INTO THE WORLD OF GOLF.
A COMBINATION OF AN OFF-THE-SHELF
PUTTING PRACTICE SYSTEM AND BIOFEEDBACK TECHNOLOGY
CAN HELP AN ATHLETE IMPROVE THEIR PUTTING.
THE FEEDBACK HERE IS OBVIOUS:
IF THE ATHLETE IS TOO TENSE
OR HAS THE WRONG BRAIN WAVE ACTIVITY,
THE HOLE WILL SHRINK, THE GREEN WILL MOVE,
AND THE LASER GUIDE WILL SWING RAPIDLY.
BUT WHEN THE ATHLETE RELAXES, ALL THAT SETTLES DOWN,
AND IT'S EASIER TO MAKE THE PUTT.
THE GOAL IS FOR THE ATHLETE
TO LEARN THE MUSCLE MEMORY OF RELAXATION
AND THE PROPER BRAIN WAVES.
THAT WAY, WHEN THEY GET OUT ON THE REAL GREEN,
THEY'RE ABLE TO CONTROL THEIR STRESS LEVELS
AND SINK THOSE BIG PUTTS.
SO THAT'S JUST ONE MORE APPLICATION OF BIOFEEDBACK.
WHERE ELSE DO YOU THINK BIOFEEDBACK COULD BE BENEFICIAL?
WELL, THAT'S IT FOR NOW.
I'M VINCE WHITFIELD,
AND WE'LL CATCH YOU NEXT TIME ON "NASA LAUNCHPAD."