Utilization of EEG and fNIRS To Determine Neural Alignment in Educational Applications

Neural alignment is seen in multiple different aspects of human interaction including in education and the dissemination of information. Different stimuli provide a different neural response, and patterns can be found across unique brains when responding to specific stimuli. Through these patterns in brain activity, similarities can be found in how one processes and responds to the various manners in which they are provided with information. With instructional videos, different brains may react to unique information in the same unique way, whether learning for the first time or refreshing previously known information. Our study uses two distinct types of functional neuroimaging, Electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), to measure similarities between the neural activity of different brains experiencing the same educational content. Using a g.Nautilus headset, EEG and fNIRS signals are recorded while the subject is watching multiple videos on different STEM topics. The collected neural data is compared between subjects at various levels of experience with the content of the videos. Some correlation is found, however, further study is needed to better understand similarities in neural alignment and train eventual learning models.