Multi-modal affect induction for affective brain-computer interfaces

Abstract

Reliable applications of affective brain-computer interfaces (aBCI) in realistic, multi-modal environments require a detailed understanding of the processes involved in emotions. To explore the modality-specific nature of affective responses, we studied neurophysiological responses (i.e., EEG) of 24 participants during visual, auditory, and audiovisual affect stimulation. The affect induction protocols were validated by participants' subjective ratings and physiological responses (i.e., ECG). Coherent with literature, we found modality-specific responses in the EEG: posterior alpha power decreases during visual stimulation and increases during auditory stimulation, anterior alpha power tends to decrease during auditory stimulation and to increase during visual stimulation. We discuss the implications of these results for multi-modal aBCI. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.