Kernel, a leader in non-invasive neuroimaging and Statespace, publisher of Aim Lab, announced a demonstration that neural patterns predicted which game players were high or low performers.
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Example of Gridshot where during the hard sections, multiple balls appear on the screen in random locations. (Photo: Business Wire)
Kernel Flow recorded brain activity of 72 players while playing Aim Lab’s Gridshot, showing the relationship between gameplay and brain function. The study was designed to predict the expertise of players using their Kernel Flow-recorded brain activity and answer the question, ‘what sets a champion gamer apart from a beginner?’.
Brain activity was measured while participants played a video game with two sections. During the easy sections, a player clicked on a ball that appeared in the same spot each time, and during the hard sections, multiple balls appeared on the screen in random locations. Players were divided into two groups based on their performance in the game.
The patterns that were measured from the brain were used to divide the players into two groups using a machine learning algorithm. The two groups formed by the algorithm corresponded to low and high performers. Additionally, Kernel used this model to evaluate the predictive power of Flow. The model Kernelgenerated had an above-chance accuracy at assigning a new participant to the correct group, with 65% accuracy for an individual prediction.
“Quantifying the relationship between brain function and in-game performance is a promising area for us. Gaming is a source of entertainment and it’s also emerging as an important area of mental health and wellness,” said Dr. Wayne Mackey, founder of Statespace. “Kernel Flow’s ability to accurately classify an expert versus novice gamer demonstrates the power of coupling high fidelity neuroimaging with gaming.”
“With just a few minutes of recorded brain activity, Flow was able to accurately predict gaming expertise. This successful demonstration gives us confidence that we can extend our work to focus on quantifying subjective measures such as depression, anxiety and pain as well as difficult to detect phenomena such as early cognitive decline,” said Bryan Johnson, CEO & Founder, Kernel.
About Aim Lab
Founded by a team of neuroscientists, Aim Lab is the ultimate training platform for gamers of all levels, with over 25 million players around the globe. Designed to help all players reach peak performance, Aim Lab learns your strengths and weaknesses and challenges you with custom exercises that reward commitment and optimize gains. Train your aim for free at aimlab.gg. Follow Aim Lab on Discord, Instagram, and Twitter.
About Kernel Flow
Kernel Flow is a wearable headset that measures brain activity by recording local changes in blood oxygenation. It is adjustable, can accommodate nearly anyone and is safe. Kernel Flow is a groundbreaking neurotechnology because it reduces loud, expensive, and room-sized equipment to a head-worn apparatus while providing neural activity data of the highest possible optical quality. This combination has never existed in such a commercial and scalable device, all factors for why brain interfaces and neuroimaging technology has largely remained in academic labs or hospital settings. The entire system is portable and, in the future, will be more broadly used for neuroscientific or physiological studies of brain activity during treatment.
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