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。实现这一目标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进化。的确，执行一个动作和观看另一个人执行该动作会激活大脑的类似区域，形成我们如何理解他人思想和行为的基础。迄今为止，绝大多数神经科学研究都集中在个人身上，但在现实生活中，人与人之间的相互信息流形成了非常复杂的动态系统。LIVELab是两年前创建的，目的是研究多人的大脑如何在复杂的现实情况下相互作用。这是一个独特的，专门建造的106个座位的演出大厅，拥有最先进的设备，可以研究音乐家之间和观众之间的非语言交流。生理反应（如心率、呼吸、皮肤电导、脑电波[EEG]）和身体动作（动作捕捉）可以同时在多个表演者和观众中测量。由此，我们构建了详细的模型，说明人们的大脑在不同情况下是如何相互作用的，以及如何受到周围环境的影响。

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).