Science Fair Project

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EricThomas
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:46 pm

Science Fair Project

Post by EricThomas »

Hi,
I'm hoping to help my daughter use Muse and Muse Monitor for a simple, grade 5 science project.
The idea is to introduce various stimuli (visual and auditory) and record the impact on calmness.
We were looking at the alpha waves. For a test, we played a calm rainforest scene, while I relaxed. Then, we played a sound clip of nails on a chalkboard.
It was difficult to see any significance between the two stimuli.
Does anybody have a better way to conduct the test, before I abandon hope and send her to school with an exploding volcano?
Maybe there is something that I'm doing wrong. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Eric
EricThomas
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:46 pm

Re: Science Fair Project

Post by EricThomas »

This is a rough test I did to see if it was feasible.
You can see around 9:32:15 that we changed the stimuli from pleasant to terrible.
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James
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Re: Science Fair Project

Post by James »

The waves shouldn't all be moving in sync. I think you have bad data here. Open your CSV file and see if you've got "NaN" (Not A Number) showing up. If you do, you might be too far away for the bluetooth connection, or have a faulty bluetooth chip on your device. Email me the file if you want me to look at it.
EricThomas
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:46 pm

Re: Science Fair Project

Post by EricThomas »

I rebooted the phone that was attached and am seeing a significant different in the wave shapes now.
Thanks!
EricThomas
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:46 pm

Re: Science Fair Project

Post by EricThomas »

Working on this. Thanks for the suggestions. We are seeing data that differs between two stimuli.
The idea is to introduce two sounds (one "pleasant", one "unpleasant") and ask the participant to focus on their breath.
The "pleasant" sound is a beach sound and the "unpleasant" sound is nails on a chalkboard.
I haven't spent alot of time on this yet (yes...this is my daughter's project, not mine...haha).
I would've expected to see an increase in alpha waves, while playing the "pleasant" sound and asking the participant to focus on their breath.
I'm seeing the opposite...an increase in the unpleasant sound.
Any suggestions for what I might look for in the graph?
Thanks in advance for your help.
I've attached a photo. The pleasant sound is on the left, unpleasant sound is on the right.
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James
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Re: Science Fair Project

Post by James »

Sorry, I'm a programmer, not a neuroscientist! I'm not sure what these results mean, but there is for sure an interesting difference.
I can help you with technical problems, but for research advice you'd need to ask someone more qualified than myself!
EricThomas
Posts: 5
Joined: Fri Jan 19, 2018 10:46 pm

Re: Science Fair Project

Post by EricThomas »

Thanks.
I manage IT, so I'm not much use either.
I'll dig into it further elsewhere.
Enjoying Muse Monitor. Really great!
Strick
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Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2018 11:19 pm

Re: Science Fair Project

Post by Strick »

What was the age of the person whose graphs are shown?
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