Multi-participant response system: Collecting interactive behavioural ratings and reaction times in 100 people simultaneously

人类创造了复杂的文化、文明和相关技术。实现这一点的一个关键前提是人们互动、合作和形成共同目标的能力的演变。事实上，做一个动作和看另一个人做那个动作会激活大脑中类似的区域，形成我们理解他人想法和行为的基础。到目前为止，绝大多数神经科学研究都集中在个体上，但在现实生活中，人与人之间的信息相互流动形成了非常复杂的动态系统。LIVELab是两年前创建的，目的是研究多个人的大脑如何在复杂的现实情况下相互作用。它是一个独特的，特别建造的106个座位的表演厅，包含最先进的设备来研究，例如，音乐家之间和观众之间的非语言交流。生理反应(例如心率、呼吸、皮肤电导、脑电波[EEG])和身体运动(动作捕捉)可以在多个表演者和观众中同时进行测量。在此基础上，我们构建了详细的模型，说明在不同的情况下，人们的大脑是如何相互作用的，并受到周围人的影响。 为了完全解释动作捕捉和生理数据，我们还需要观众报告他们所看到的和听到的。拟议的定制交互响应系统同时从106个无线响应垫收集数据，这些无线响应垫由一个高吞吐量的网络服务器控制。该系统将能够将文本、图像和视频推送到答题板上，并收集对不同问题类型的答案，如是/否、多项选择、下拉菜单和连续滑块。从人们对特定声音和图像的反应速度中可以学到很多东西，所以当测量反应的延迟时，系统将具有毫秒级的计时精度。该系统将与例如脑电和动作捕捉数据及时同步，因此可以分析人们的报告，了解他们的大脑和动作与观众和舞台上的其他人的同步程度。互动反应系统将通过实现关于人类互动的尖端研究来促进我们在自然科学方面的知识。对人们如何在复杂的现实环境中互动的基本理解将使加拿大人受益，因为它适用于有社会缺陷(例如自闭症)、公共政策(例如创建考虑人类互动方式的社会项目)和商业(例如发展最佳团队；促进最佳谈判策略)的人群。

Humans have created complex cultures, civilizations and associated technologies. One critical prerequisite for this was the evolution of the ability for people to interact, cooperate, and to form shared goals. Indeed, performing an action and watching another person perform that action activate similar areas of the brain, forming the basis of how we understand the thoughts and behaviours of others. To date, the vast majority of neuroscience research has focused on individuals, but in real life situations the mutual flow of information among people forms very complex dynamical systems. The LIVELab was created two years ago to study how the brains of multiple people interact in complex realistic situations. It is a unique, specially-constructed 106-seat performance hall containing state-of-the-art equipment to study, for example, non-verbal communication between musicians and between audience members. Physiological responses (e.g., heart rate, breathing, skin conductance, brain waves [EEG]) and body movements (motion capture) can be measured in multiple performers and audience members simultaneously. From this, we construct detailed models of how people’s brains interact and are affected by those around them in different situations. To fully interpret the motion capture and physiological data, we also need reports from audience members about what they are seeing and hearing. The proposed custom-fabricated Interactive Response System simultaneously gathers data from 106 wireless response pads controlled from a high-throughput network server. The system will be able to push text, images and video to the response pads and collect answers to different question types such as yes/no, multiple choice, drop-down menu and continuous slider. Much can be learned from how quickly people respond to particular sounds and images, so the system will have millisecond timing accuracy when measuring the latency of responses. The system will be synchronized in time with, for example, EEG and motion capture data, so people’s reports can be analyzed with respect to how synchronized their brains and movements are with others in the audience and on stage. The Interactive Response System will advance our knowledge in the natural sciences by enabling cutting-edge research on human interaction. Fundamental understanding of how people interact in complex realistic environments will benefit Canadians through applications to populations with social deficits (e.g., Autism), public policy (e.g., creating social programs that take into account how humans interact) and business (e.g., developing optimal teams; promoting optimal negotiation strategies).