Using recordings of brain activity to predict and improve human performance.

Abstract

This project investigated methods for using recordings of event-related potentials (ERPs) to predict and improve human memory performance. In a series of experiments, the ERPs related to good and poor memory performance were characterized and a computational model was developed in which the ERPs recorded while a person studied words were used to predict whether that person would be a high performer or a low performer on a subsequent memory test. These experiments provide the first demonstration of ERPs used to predict subsequent memory performance. Additional experiments investigated the effects of different types of memory training (learning a memory strategy such as mental imagery or increasing memory capacity through working memory training) on memory performance and the associated brain activity.4