Mental Stress Management Using fNIRS Directed Connectivity and Audio Stimulation

In this study, we propose a method to enhance cognitive vigilance and mitigate mental stress in the workplace. We designed an experiment to induce stress by putting participants through Stroop Color-Word Task (SCWT) under time constraint and negative feedback. Then, we used 16 Hz binaural beats audi...

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Main Authors: Rateb Katmah, Fares Al-Shargie, Usman Tariq, Fabio Babiloni, Fadwa Al-Mughairbi, Hasan Al-Nashash
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2023-01-01
Series:IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10026306/
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author Rateb Katmah
Fares Al-Shargie
Usman Tariq
Fabio Babiloni
Fadwa Al-Mughairbi
Hasan Al-Nashash
author_facet Rateb Katmah
Fares Al-Shargie
Usman Tariq
Fabio Babiloni
Fadwa Al-Mughairbi
Hasan Al-Nashash
author_sort Rateb Katmah
collection DOAJ
description In this study, we propose a method to enhance cognitive vigilance and mitigate mental stress in the workplace. We designed an experiment to induce stress by putting participants through Stroop Color-Word Task (SCWT) under time constraint and negative feedback. Then, we used 16 Hz binaural beats auditory stimulation (BBs) for 10 minutes to enhance cognitive vigilance and mitigate stress. Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), salivary alpha-amylase, and behavioral reactions were used to determine the stress level. The level of stress was assessed using reaction time to stimuli (RT), accuracy of target detection, directed functional connectivity based on partial directed coherence, graph theory measures, and the laterality index (LI). We discovered that 16 Hz BBs mitigated mental stress by substantially increasing the target detection accuracy by 21.83&#x0025; (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${p} &lt; 0.001$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) and decreasing salivary alpha amylase levels by 30.28&#x0025; (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${p} &lt; 0.01$ </tex-math></inline-formula>). The partial directed coherence, graph theory analysis measures, and LI results indicated that mental stress decreased information flow from the left to the right prefrontal cortex under stress, whereas the 16 Hz BBs had a major impact on enhancing vigilance and mitigating mental stress via boosting connectivity network on the dorsolateral and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex.
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issn 1534-4320
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publishDate 2023-01-01
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series IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
spelling doaj-art-707890fad33146358e29fbd31f93a89e2025-08-20T01:52:10ZengIEEEIEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering1534-43201558-02102023-01-01311086109610.1109/TNSRE.2023.323991310026306Mental Stress Management Using fNIRS Directed Connectivity and Audio StimulationRateb Katmah0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3723-2705Fares Al-Shargie1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5792-8032Usman Tariq2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8244-2165Fabio Babiloni3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4962-176XFadwa Al-Mughairbi4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6306-5632Hasan Al-Nashash5https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9685-4937Department of Electrical Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Electrical Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Electrical Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Molecular Medicine, University of Sapienza Rome, Rome, ItalyCollege of Medicines and Health Sciences, United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Electrical Engineering, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab EmiratesIn this study, we propose a method to enhance cognitive vigilance and mitigate mental stress in the workplace. We designed an experiment to induce stress by putting participants through Stroop Color-Word Task (SCWT) under time constraint and negative feedback. Then, we used 16 Hz binaural beats auditory stimulation (BBs) for 10 minutes to enhance cognitive vigilance and mitigate stress. Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), salivary alpha-amylase, and behavioral reactions were used to determine the stress level. The level of stress was assessed using reaction time to stimuli (RT), accuracy of target detection, directed functional connectivity based on partial directed coherence, graph theory measures, and the laterality index (LI). We discovered that 16 Hz BBs mitigated mental stress by substantially increasing the target detection accuracy by 21.83&#x0025; (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${p} &lt; 0.001$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) and decreasing salivary alpha amylase levels by 30.28&#x0025; (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${p} &lt; 0.01$ </tex-math></inline-formula>). The partial directed coherence, graph theory analysis measures, and LI results indicated that mental stress decreased information flow from the left to the right prefrontal cortex under stress, whereas the 16 Hz BBs had a major impact on enhancing vigilance and mitigating mental stress via boosting connectivity network on the dorsolateral and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10026306/Vigilance enhancementstress mitigationstroop color-word taskfunctional connectivitysalivary alpha amylasefunctional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)
spellingShingle Rateb Katmah
Fares Al-Shargie
Usman Tariq
Fabio Babiloni
Fadwa Al-Mughairbi
Hasan Al-Nashash
Mental Stress Management Using fNIRS Directed Connectivity and Audio Stimulation
IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
Vigilance enhancement
stress mitigation
stroop color-word task
functional connectivity
salivary alpha amylase
functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)
title Mental Stress Management Using fNIRS Directed Connectivity and Audio Stimulation
title_full Mental Stress Management Using fNIRS Directed Connectivity and Audio Stimulation
title_fullStr Mental Stress Management Using fNIRS Directed Connectivity and Audio Stimulation
title_full_unstemmed Mental Stress Management Using fNIRS Directed Connectivity and Audio Stimulation
title_short Mental Stress Management Using fNIRS Directed Connectivity and Audio Stimulation
title_sort mental stress management using fnirs directed connectivity and audio stimulation
topic Vigilance enhancement
stress mitigation
stroop color-word task
functional connectivity
salivary alpha amylase
functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10026306/
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AT fabiobabiloni mentalstressmanagementusingfnirsdirectedconnectivityandaudiostimulation
AT fadwaalmughairbi mentalstressmanagementusingfnirsdirectedconnectivityandaudiostimulation
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