Decoding the coupling between the brain and skin reactions in auditory stimulation by information-based analysis of EEG and GSR signals

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Pakniyat, Najmeh^a | Namazi, Hamidreza^{b; *}

Affiliations: [a] Independent Researcher, Toronto, ON, Canada | [b] School of Engineering, Monash University, Selangor, Malaysia

Correspondence: [*] Corresponding author: Hamidreza Namazi, School of Engineering, Monash University, Selangor, Malaysia. E-mail: hamidreza.namazi@monash.edu.

Abstract: BACKGROUND: The analysis of brain activity in different conditions is an important research area in neuroscience. OBJECTIVE: This paper analyzed the correlation between the brain and skin activities in rest and stimulations by information-based analysis of electroencephalogram (EEG) and galvanic skin resistance (GSR) signals. METHODS: We recorded EEG and GSR signals of eleven subjects during rest and auditory stimulations using three pieces of music that were differentiated based on their complexity. Then, we calculated the Shannon entropy of these signals to quantify their information contents. RESULTS: The results showed that music with greater complexity has a more significant effect on altering the information contents of EEG and GSR signals. We also found a strong correlation (r= 0.9682) among the variations of the information contents of EEG and GSR signals. Therefore, the activities of the skin and brain are correlated in different conditions. CONCLUSION: This analysis technique can be utilized to evaluate the correlation among the activities of various organs versus brain activity in different conditions.

Keywords: Skin, brain, EEG signals, GSR signals, Shannon entropy, information, correlation

DOI: 10.3233/THC-213052

Journal: Technology and Health Care, vol. 30, no. 3, pp. 623-632, 2022