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Anne-Marie Brouwer is a senior Scientist at TNO in the Netherlands.  She has a background in cognitive psychology but has applied her methodological expertise to a wide range of research projects.  During our conversation, we talk about the importance of methodology for applied research in psychology and neurosciences.  We also talk about specific projects that Anne-Marie has been involved in, such as brain-computer interfaces, physiological synchrony, measuring stress under laboratory conditions, and some recent work on perceptions of food.

In this episode, I talk to Fabien Lotte from INRIA in Bordeaux about his research on Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI).  Fabien is a computer scientist working in this field with a particular interest in signal processing and machine learning for EEG-based BCI.  We talk about the role of machine learning in neurotechnologies and Fabien's research projects, on everything from user learning of active BCI, measuring curiosity and neurofeedback.  We also discuss the benefits of multidisciplinary research, problems and strategies in applying machine learning to EEG data, and what active BCIs can do for a healthy user.

Graeme Moffat is a neuroscientist working in the field of consumer neurotechnology.  At the time of this conversation, he was chief scientist at Interaxon who make the Muse product.  Muse is an EEG system designed to support meditation practice via auditory feedback.  During our conversation, we talk about the development of Muse and the  challenges encountered when designing an EEG system for the population at large.  We also discuss other issues related to consumer neurotechnology, such as interface design, lessons learned from big (EEG) data, and privacy.  We also chatted about how differences between working as an academic or as part of a commercial organisation, and how both sectors bring their own perspective to the development of neurotechnologies.

The research conducted by Sergi Bermudez I Badia works at the Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute concerns the integration of technologies into the process of neurorehabilitation.  His work integrates virtual reality, serious games, brain-computer interfaces and gamification to facilitate recovery from brain damage due to a stroke.  He talks about his career, the development of his particular approach (virtual neurorehabilitation) and lessons learned along the way about the use of technology within the process of rehabilitation.

In this episode of the mind machine, I'm talking to Dr. Chad Stephens from the NASA Langley Research Centre.  Chad is a psychophysiologist currently working in the field of aviation and human factors.  We talk about his early work on emotions and the autonomic nervous system before discussing the work he does at NASA.  Our conversation covers measuring performance in pilot, hypoxia, mental workload, using fNIRS to capture pilot attention, use and abuses of wearable sensors and ethical issues around performance monitoring.  

In episode 6 of the mind machine, I talk to Prof. Dick De Waard about his research into traffic psychology and human factors.  We discuss how driving behaviour is measured on the real-road and in simulators and how psychophysiological methods can be integrated into those environments.  We also have a long chat about the measurement of mental workload and the logistics of doing applied research, particularly with users of illegal drugs.

In the fifth episode of the podcast, I talk to Professor Klaus Gramann of the Berlin Mobile Brain-Body Imaging (MoBI) Lab.  We discuss his work on studying spatial navigation and other topics while measuring brain activity in fully mobile participants.  We also talk about the role of wearable sensors and VR that enable this type of research and issues related to signal processing of the EEG.  Klaus also talks about future directions in MoBI research, such as studying the effects of architecture and artistic creation.

In this fourth episode of the podcast, I talk to Professor Frederic Dehais from the University of Toulouse.  Fred talks about his background and his work applying neurosciences to the area of aviation psychology.  We talk about his research into pilot error and the pros and cons of using neurophysiological methods in the cockpit, particularly EEG and fNIRS.  Fred talks about the role of attention in accident formation with reference to applied neurosciences.  We also talk about research in the field of neuroergonomics.

Prof. Wendy Rogers talks about her research into cognitive ageing and the design of technology to support the ageing process.  Our conversation covers the development of Wendy's work, from the study of skill acquisition to understanding the process of technology acceptance in older users.  We also talk about Wendy's work on social robotics and designing robots to support older users in everyday life.

In the episode, I talk to Dr. Alan Pope from the NASA Langley Research Centre in Hampton, Virginia.  Alan talks about how his passion for engineering and psychology led to his research on mental workload, the biocybernetic loop and neurofeedback systems.  Our conversation also takes in the influence of cybernetics on his work, how to use EEG to measure psychological states and the methodological issues around constructing and evaluating systems that use measures from the body and brain in real-time. 

A conversation with Dr. Thorsten Zander about his research on passive brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and neuroadaptive technology. Steve talks to Thorsten about the field of neuroergonomics, multimodal BCI, passive BCI and ethics. The conversation also covers using brain activity to assess bluffing during a card game and using EEG data to assess mental workload.