Evaluating multimodal physiological signals for fear detection: relative utility of pupillometry, heart rate, and EEG
IntroductionFear is a fundamental emotion essential for survival; however, excessive fear can lead to anxiety disorders and other adverse consequences. Monitoring fear states is crucial for timely intervention and improved mental well-being. Although functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| author | Yuki Ebato Tomita Saki Isshu Wakita Ayumu Ueno Tomoaki Ishibashi Tetsuya Takahashi Tetsuya Takahashi Tetsuya Takahashi Sou Nobukawa Sou Nobukawa Sou Nobukawa Sou Nobukawa |
| author_facet | Yuki Ebato Tomita Saki Isshu Wakita Ayumu Ueno Tomoaki Ishibashi Tetsuya Takahashi Tetsuya Takahashi Tetsuya Takahashi Sou Nobukawa Sou Nobukawa Sou Nobukawa Sou Nobukawa |
| author_sort | Yuki Ebato |
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| description | IntroductionFear is a fundamental emotion essential for survival; however, excessive fear can lead to anxiety disorders and other adverse consequences. Monitoring fear states is crucial for timely intervention and improved mental well-being. Although functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has provided valuable insights into the neural networks associated with fear, its high cost and environmental constraints limit its practical application in daily life. Electroencephalography (EEG) offers a more accessible alternative but struggles to capture deep brain activity. Physiological measures such as pupil dynamics and heart rate can provide indirect insights into these deeper processes, yet they are often studied in isolation. In this context, we aimed to evaluate the practical effectiveness and limitations of a multimodal approach that combines pupil dynamics and heart rate—indirect indicators of deep brain activity—with EEG, a temporally precise but spatially limited measure of cortical responses.MethodsWe simultaneously recorded EEG, pupillometry, and heart rate in 40 healthy male participants exposed to fear-inducing and neutral visual stimuli, while also assessing their psychological states.ResultsFear-inducing stimuli elicited distinct physiological responses, including increased occipital theta power, pupil dilation, and decreased heart rate. Notably, pupil size was the most sensitive discriminator of emotional state, though the integration of modalities yielded only limited improvement in classification accuracy.DiscussionThese findings provide empirical support for the feasibility of multimodal physiological monitoring of fear and underscore the need for further refinement for real-world applications. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-17b680a816ec442f9ae97c8ea88873d7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1662-5161 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
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| series | Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj-art-17b680a816ec442f9ae97c8ea88873d72025-08-20T03:58:41ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Human Neuroscience1662-51612025-07-011910.3389/fnhum.2025.16055771605577Evaluating multimodal physiological signals for fear detection: relative utility of pupillometry, heart rate, and EEGYuki Ebato0Tomita Saki1Isshu Wakita2Ayumu Ueno3Tomoaki Ishibashi4Tetsuya Takahashi5Tetsuya Takahashi6Tetsuya Takahashi7Sou Nobukawa8Sou Nobukawa9Sou Nobukawa10Sou Nobukawa11Department of Computer Science, Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, JapanDepartment of Computer Science, Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, JapanGraduate School of Information and Computer Science, Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, JapanGraduate School of Information and Computer Science, Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, JapanDepartment of Neuropsychiatry, University of Fukui, Fukui, JapanDepartment of Neuropsychiatry, University of Fukui, Fukui, JapanResearch Center for Child Mental Development, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, JapanUozu Shinkei Sanatorium, Uozu, JapanDepartment of Computer Science, Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, JapanGraduate School of Information and Computer Science, Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, JapanResearch Center for Mathematical Engineering, Chiba Institute of Technology, Narashino, JapanDepartment of Preventive Intervention for Psychiatric Disorders, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, National Institute of Mental Health, Tokyo, JapanIntroductionFear is a fundamental emotion essential for survival; however, excessive fear can lead to anxiety disorders and other adverse consequences. Monitoring fear states is crucial for timely intervention and improved mental well-being. Although functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has provided valuable insights into the neural networks associated with fear, its high cost and environmental constraints limit its practical application in daily life. Electroencephalography (EEG) offers a more accessible alternative but struggles to capture deep brain activity. Physiological measures such as pupil dynamics and heart rate can provide indirect insights into these deeper processes, yet they are often studied in isolation. In this context, we aimed to evaluate the practical effectiveness and limitations of a multimodal approach that combines pupil dynamics and heart rate—indirect indicators of deep brain activity—with EEG, a temporally precise but spatially limited measure of cortical responses.MethodsWe simultaneously recorded EEG, pupillometry, and heart rate in 40 healthy male participants exposed to fear-inducing and neutral visual stimuli, while also assessing their psychological states.ResultsFear-inducing stimuli elicited distinct physiological responses, including increased occipital theta power, pupil dilation, and decreased heart rate. Notably, pupil size was the most sensitive discriminator of emotional state, though the integration of modalities yielded only limited improvement in classification accuracy.DiscussionThese findings provide empirical support for the feasibility of multimodal physiological monitoring of fear and underscore the need for further refinement for real-world applications.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1605577/fullelectroencephalographyfear monitoringmultimodal measurementpupil dynamicsheart rate |
| spellingShingle | Yuki Ebato Tomita Saki Isshu Wakita Ayumu Ueno Tomoaki Ishibashi Tetsuya Takahashi Tetsuya Takahashi Tetsuya Takahashi Sou Nobukawa Sou Nobukawa Sou Nobukawa Sou Nobukawa Evaluating multimodal physiological signals for fear detection: relative utility of pupillometry, heart rate, and EEG Frontiers in Human Neuroscience electroencephalography fear monitoring multimodal measurement pupil dynamics heart rate |
| title | Evaluating multimodal physiological signals for fear detection: relative utility of pupillometry, heart rate, and EEG |
| title_full | Evaluating multimodal physiological signals for fear detection: relative utility of pupillometry, heart rate, and EEG |
| title_fullStr | Evaluating multimodal physiological signals for fear detection: relative utility of pupillometry, heart rate, and EEG |
| title_full_unstemmed | Evaluating multimodal physiological signals for fear detection: relative utility of pupillometry, heart rate, and EEG |
| title_short | Evaluating multimodal physiological signals for fear detection: relative utility of pupillometry, heart rate, and EEG |
| title_sort | evaluating multimodal physiological signals for fear detection relative utility of pupillometry heart rate and eeg |
| topic | electroencephalography fear monitoring multimodal measurement pupil dynamics heart rate |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2025.1605577/full |
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