Effects of the concentration level, eye fatigue and coffee consumption on the performance of a BCI system based on visual ERP-P300

Abstract

Background: A widely used paradigm for Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI) is based on detecting P300 Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) in response to stimulation and concentration tasks. An open challenge corresponds to maximizing the performance of a BCI by considering artifacts arising from the user's cognitive and physical conditions during task execution.

New method: In this study, an analysis of the performance of a visual BCI-P300 system was performed under the metrics of Sensitivity (Sen), Specificity (Spe), Accuracy (Acc), and Area-Under the ROC Curve (AUC), considering the main reported factors affecting the neurophysiological behavior of the P300 signal: Concentration Level, Eye Fatigue, and Coffee Consumption.

Comparison with existing methods: We compared the performance of three P300 signal detection methods (MA-LDA, CCA-RLR, and MA+CCA-RLR) using a public database (GigaScience) in different groups. Data were segmented according to three factors of interest: high and low levels of concentration, high and low eye fatigue, and coffee consumption at different times.

Results: The results showed a significant improvement between 3% and 6% for the metrics evaluated for identifying the P300 signal in relation to concentration levels and coffee consumption.

Conclusion: P300 signal can be influenced by physical and mental factors during the execution of ERPs evocation tasks, which could be controlled to maximize the interface's capacity to detect the individual's intention.

Keywords: Brain-Computer Interfaces; Coffee consumption effects; Concentration level; Eye Fatigue; P300 detection.