Leveraging Neurable’s Enten Headphone In Autism
1 in 44 Americans, see the world as a perplexed and confusing place. Sure the world can be confusing at times (like when humans decided sliced bread was better than a bagel 🥯), but I’m referring to confusion someone might face in regards to day to day tasks. With an overwhelmed sensory system, it makes it diffciult for those 1 in 44 people to understand the world around us 🌎. There is a 31% chance that this person will be non-verbal, and 66% chance they will experience bullying.
It is 1 in 44 Americans that have autism. As a society, what we perieve to be a disability, is really the ability to do amazing things, if we just took the time to understand…
It was this research paper, that really got my hamster wheel turning (🐹 + ⚙️ = 🧠). It discussed the connection between Autism Spectrum Disorder and the brain waves. It helped me better understand how the brain waves (at a specific part of the brain) are related to each specific symptom of autism (ex. Difficulty socializing, anxiety, repetitive patterns, etc.)
After doing more research (resources will be listed at the end), I thought about leveraging EEG’s to better understand how someone with ASD may be expericing the world, due to communication challenges. Through leveraging neurofeedback we can help make the world a less overwhelming place for those with autism.
EEG stands for electroencephalogram, and it uses small electrodes (small metal discs) to detect electrical activity (neurons firing).
Disclaimer: This concept is a moonshot idea because it has not been tested, and does not have enough clinical evidence to support it. Current ASD treatments like Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) is an evidence-based and safe treatment option.
So, let’s cut to chase. Here is my idea, summarized in 1 sentence…
The goal is for the EEG is to collect neurofeedback, and for the machine learning algorithm to provide the right treatment to manipulate the brain waves (through music, sounds, binaural beats, etc.) to the optimal state to reduce ASD symptoms.
Here’s how it will be broken down:
Foundations:
— Understanding the parts of the brain
— Understanding brain waves and EEG’s
— Understanding autism and the connection with the brain waves
Concept:
— Concept part 1/2: Leveraging the Enten headphone for data collection
— Concept part 2/2: Using AI to assign an audible treatment
Let’s build our foundation
Understanding the Parts of the Brain 🧠
The brain (with the spinal cord) makes up the central nervous system. It is responsible for controlling every process that regulates our body. The brain consists of grey and white matter.
Grey matter:
— Present on the perimeter of the brain and interior of the spinal cord
— Processes and interprets information
White matter:
— Present in the interior of the brain, and perimeter of the spinal cord
— Transmits information to other parts of the nervous system
The brain is also composed of different lobes, including the frontal lobe, parietal lobe, temporal lobe, and occipital lobe.
— The frontal lobe is the biggest part of the brain and as you might guess, it’s at the front of the head 🥳. The frontal lobe is responsible for voluntary movement, cognitive skills such as planning, self-moitoring, being able to control responses to a sitation, etc. The frontal lobe also contains Broca’s area which is responsible for speech.
— The parietal lobe is responsible for spatial awareness and is located in the middle of the brain. It helps us identify where we are compared to the objects around us. It also contians Wernicke’s area which helps us understand language.
— The temporal lobe is involved in short-term memory, speech, and musical rhythm. It is located at the sides of the brain.
— Lastly, located at the back of the brain, is the occipital lobe which is responsible for vision.
Within these lobes and main brain regions, there are also the sensory motor regions. We can identify Broca’s area, which we discussed to be in the frontal lobe, and Wernicke’s area which we learned was in the parietal lobe. In short, at different parts of the brain, different brain cells are working to figure out different things. This includes how we see, hear, move, and absorb and react to the world around us 🌎.
For further understanding, I highly recomend this article because it goes in great detail of each part, their function and how they all intertwine together.
Understanding Brain Waves and EEG’s
Our brains are made up of billions of specialized cells, including neurons. Neurons are very “active” cells because they are constantly communicating with one another.
Specifically, electrical activity from the brain occurs in the form of an action potential. An action potential is a phenomenon generated through the movement of positively charged ions across a neuron membrane.
Messages in a neuron start as an electrical signal (known as an action potential) which travels down the axon. Once the action potential reaches the gap between two neurons, the action potential is transformed into a chemical signal which travels through a synapse (space between two neurons). The chemical signal then triggers an action potential in the neuron on the other side of the synapse, creating a chain reaction to send messages throughout the brain.
It is this electrical activity that can be detected using an EEG. Depending on the frequencies of the electrical signals, the brain wave will fall under 1 of the 5 categories. Take a look… 👀
It is evident that our brain wave frequencies are different depending on what we are doing. For example, when you’re doing your math homework that you’ve procrastinated doing, beta and gamma waves are present. When you’re sleeping, theta and eventually beta waves are present. The key here is that once we have awareness of these brainwaves, we are better able to control them 🔑.
For example, a study at MIT found that when subjects suppressed their alpha waves in one hemisphere of their parietal cortex, it resulted in a greater ability to pay attention. This is the foundation to the concept of neuro-feedback. So this got me thinking, what if we were able to provide real time feedback to the caretakers of autistic children in order to understand them better?
neuro-feedback: real-time feedback from brain activity
Understanding Autism
Autism spectrum disorder is a condition that is characterized by repetitive behaviours, communication challenges, and impaired social skills. Those with ASD experience difficulty in social and academic settings; and symptoms can occur when a child is just 2 years old.
ASD has no single known cause, however genetics and environmental factors play a role 🌳. Mutations in over 1,000 genes are associated with ASD, however not everyone that has a mutated gene will actually develop ASD. It is estimated that 40 to 80 percent of ASD risks are associated with genetic factors.
Those with ASD may experience:
- Communication and social interaction difficulty:
— Trouble maintaining eye contact 👁
— Trouble reading body language/non-verbal communication
— Difficulty sharing emotions or interests
2. Repetitive patterns of behaviour
— Repetitve speech, movements, etc.
— Strict adherence to routines
— Increase or decrease in sensitivity (ex. specific sounds may result in a negative reaction)
— Fixated intrestes
Understanding the Connections Between Autism and Brain Waves
A research paper published in 2015, reviews this connection in great depth. The main conclusion is that those with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), presented excess delta waves (slow waves) at the frontal lobe, and a lack of beta waves in the majority of the brain. The excessive delta waves at the frontal lobe can explain the social impairments among ASD children.
Also identified:
— Low alpha waves in the sensory motor regionsNote: Can explain anxiety in children with ASD, and lack of sensory processing
— Excess alpha in the left hemisphere
Note: Excess of alpha waves in the left hemisphere indicates hyper-functioning
— Less theta waves in the left hemisphere
— Excess theta waves in the right frontal region
Note: Normal theta waves are reflected in learning and memory, and insufficient theta disrupts internal focus.
The Concept ⚙️
Aspect 1: Collecting EEG Data
In order to change the brain waves to the optimal state, the current brain waves need to be identified first.
It is important to keep in mind that autism is a chronic condition, and not something that will appear for a few hours than disappear. Therefore, in order to make this neruofeedback treatment as effective as possible, the EEG should be worn for a majority of the day. This would allow for greater data collection resulting in more accurate and frequent treatment outputs.
The question here is, well what do we use to collect the EEG data?
And now this is the part where I thank Neurable for making my dreams come true and designing the Enten headphone 😆. Unlike any other EEG headset, the Enten is a headphone which allows the audible treatments (music, binaural beats, etc.) to be played directly through it.
Aspect 2: Machine Learning — Deep Learning
Above we discussed the input, which is the EEG data, but now let's discuss how we get from the input to the output (the audible treatment👂).
We need the AI to figure out two things:
- Are the brain waves ideal/optimal?
- If the brain waves are not optimal, what audible treatment would bring them into the optimal threshold?
To answer question 1, a supervised learning method will be levergaed, specifically a classification algorithm. Through comparing the inputted data to optimal brain waves, the algorithm will be able to classify if the persons brain waves are optimal or not optimal. This is a crucial step because in order to provide an effective audible treatment, the desired change has to be initially identified.
If the classification model labels the inputted data as “optimal”, then there will be no output because no change is needed. It’s already ideal. However, if the classification algorithm decides the brain waves are not optimal, then it will assign an audible treatment for the ideal brain wave thresholds.
Regarding question 2, the audible treatment is selected through a linear regression classification model, where the data points are plotted and compared to the predicted optimal state via the first classification model. The algorithm will then calculate its loss function to figure out how far away it is from the target. Once the difference between optimal and current brain waves are identified, than an audible treatment will be assigned to lessen the loss function. For example, if excess theta waves were identified, then the goal for the audible treatment would be to increase the brain wave frequencies.
Once the treatment is played through the headphones, the EEG will measure the brainwaves again, in hopes of a smaller loss function (closer to optimal). Depending on this value, the AI will repeat this process.
Quick Recap
What has happened thus far?
- The EEG has measured the brain waves 🧠
- The AI has decided if the brain waves are optimal or not optimal
- The AI has assigned an audible treatment to bring the brain waves to an ideal threshold
Audible Treatment 👂
There is one key point missing though, and that is the audible treatment, or step 4…
4. The headphone will play the assigned audible treatment, including:
Binaural beats: Binaural beats are beats that can manipulate brain waves. They work by playing beats the same hertz as the desired brain waves hertz. Therefore, if a child with ASD is experiencing social impairments, the EEG will be able to recgonize an excessive amount of delta waves and a binural beat can be played to lessen the delta waves.
Music: Music therapy is a quite common practice for those with anxiety, ptsd, and other mental struggles. It has been found to manipulate the brain waves depending on the sound wave frequencies from the song 🎵.
Meditation: Meditation can increase alpha waves, and reduces beta waves.
It’s not as perfect as it sounds…
There are two main problems that I have identified with this concept. These include:
- Figuring out how to target the specific parts of the brain that require increased or decreased brain wave frequencies.
- Determining the effectiveness of this treatment. Because autism has many causes, it is unclear whether or not manipulaitng the brain waves will have a significant positive effect. It is being researched how those with autism may have changes in the physcial structure of their brain. Therefore, an audible treatment won’t be effective in solving the root problem.
In conclusion…
Leveraging neurofeedback and the Enten headphone to help reduce ASD symptoms has been a very interesting concept to create and learn more about. The goal with this concept is to provide a non-invasive and non-medicinal treatment to help those with autism navigate the world with more ease 💗.
Let’s connect 🤝
