Accelerated Learning

Comments

• wjcroft Mount Shasta, CA

  February 2015 edited February 2015

  Gary,
  
  You can easily setup filters to show the amplitudes of these different bands. See the BrainBay tutorial for an example of a very simple neurofeedback protocol measuring alpha and beta bands from a sensor at one point.
  
  Note that, surface EEG like this is not precise enough to localize "different regions" and networks of the brain. A sensor at the scalp picks up activity from a very wide area. (Nunez estimates one EEG sensor is picking up ensemble activity from 6 square cm of area.) To really see network and region activity requires what is called "source localization" or "the inverse solution": using a large number of sensors and computing activity at 3D volume pixels (voxels).
  
  As just one example, see this paper,
  
  http://airccse.org/journal/sipij/papers/4413sipij04.pdf
  
  Advanced Brain Monitoring (ABM) says they have a 24 channel system that works along these lines. Although 24 channels is near the minimum number of channels needed,
  
  http://www.advancedbrainmonitoring.com/accelerated-learning/   see TedX video
  
  EGI uses much denser arrays. Some references on the page as well,
  
  http://www.egi.com/research-division/research-division-bel/accelerated-learning
  
  Scholarpedia on source localization,
  
  http://www.scholarpedia.org/article/Source_localization
  
  ----
  
  Now what constitutes research into brain network activation during learning, can be different from practical applications involving simpler paradigms.
  
  DARPA is said to be working in these areas and ABM has participated in that. In the video below they show a simple 6 or 9 channel sensor montage with amateur archery trainees said to be achieving higher accuracy with neurofeedback coaching. (To increase simultaneous alpha and theta.) Since this is not using source localization, this is something you could do with OpenBCI and/or Brainbay or custom software.
  
  http://www.advancedbrainmonitoring.com/abm-on-through-the-wormhole   Video
  
  Paper describing the ABM neurofeedback algorithms used with golf, archery, etc. Basically training to increase relaxation, receptivity and "enter the zone".
  
  

  Marksmen consistently showed an increase in alpha power (seen in all electrode sites) beginning approximately two seconds before trigger pull, and a modest increase in theta power (seen only in right hemisphere frontal and central sites F4 and C4) beginning two-to-three seconds before trigger pull. The elite archers consistently showed an increase in alpha power (seen in all electrode sites) beginning approximately three seconds before arrow release, and an increase in theta power (also seen in all electrode sites) also beginning approximately three seconds before arrow release. Data from expert golfers were more variable between subjects. However a general trend was observed in which alpha power increased slightly beginning 4-5 seconds before the putt, peaked at 2-3 seconds prior to the putt, and then de- creased steadily to the time of the putt. Theta power also increased beginning approximately 4-5 seconds before the putt, peaked at 1-2 seconds pre-putt, then decreased to the time of the putt.
  

  
  Most likely these techniques of accelerated learning for meditative athletic disciplines, will not generalize to all situations in which you would want to facilitate cognitive learning. ABM carefully chose activities that were more easily measured and trained. But which certainly align with the interests of agencies such as DARPA.
  
  William
  
• wjcroft Mount Shasta, CA

  February 2015 edited February 2015

  A few more links,
  
  https://www.google.com/search?q=neurofeedback+enhanced+learning
  
  http://www.americanboardofsportpsychology.org/portals/24/absp-journalhammond1.pdf
  
  see list of papers at bottom of page
  https://senselabs.com/science/ 
  
  Leslie Sherlin is CSO with both SenseLabs and Versus
  Sherlin intro and Versus demo, see protocols at 13:40  :