Biology subjects

Uslar, V. N.

Publications and source records attributed to Uslar, V. N..

2 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2024

Sound perception in realistic surgery scenarios: Towards EEG-based auditory work strain measures for medical personnel.

Surgical personnel face various stressors in the workplace, including environmental sounds. Mobile electroencephalography (EEG) offers a promising approach for objectively measuring how individuals perceive sounds. In this study, we utilized mobile EEG to explore how a realistic soundscape is perceived during simulated laparoscopic surgery. To examine the varying demands placed on personnel in different situations, we manipulated the cognitive demand during the surgical task, using a memory task. To assess responses to the soundscape, we calculated event-related potentials for distinct sound events and temporal response functions for the ongoing soundscape. Although participants reported varying degrees of demand under different conditions, no significant effects were observed on surgical task performance or EEG parameters. However, changes in surgical task performance and EEG parameters over time were noted, while subjective results remained consistent over time. These findings highlight the importance of using multiple measures to fully understand the complex relationship between sound processing and cognitive demand. Furthermore, in the context of combined EEG and audio recordings in real-life scenarios, sparse representations of the soundscape have advantages over more detailed representations. Our results indicate that both types of representations are equally effective in eliciting neural responses. Overall, this study marks a significant step towards objectively investigating sound processing in applied settings.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Investigating the attentional focus to workplace-related soundscapes in a complex audio-visual-motor task using EEG

In demanding work situations (e.g., during a surgery) the processing of complex soundscapes varies over time and can be a burden for medical personnel. Here we study, using mobile electroencephalography (EEG), how humans process workplace-related soundscapes while performing a complex audio-visual-motor task (3D Tetris). Specifically, we wanted to know how the attentional focus changes the processing of the soundscape as a whole. Participants played a game of 3D Tetris in which they had to use both hands to control falling blocks. At the same time, participants listened to a complex soundscape, similar to what is found in an operating room (i.e., sound of machinery, people talking in the background, alarm sounds, and instructions). In this within-subject design, participants had to react to instructions (e.g., "place the next Block in the upper left corner") and to sounds depending on the experimental condition, either to a specific alarm sound originating from a fixed location or to a beep sound that originated from varying locations. Attention to the alarm reflected a narrow attentional focus, as it was easy to detect and most of the soundscape could be ignored. Attention to the beep reflected a wide attentional focus, as it required the participants to monitor multiple different sound streams. Results show the robustness of the N1 and P3 event related potential response during this dynamic task with a complex auditory soundscape. Furthermore, we used temporal response functions to study auditory processing to the whole soundscape. This work is a step towards studying workplace-related sound processing in the operating room using mobile EEG.

neuroscience↗