Towards a Modular Cognitive State Gauge: Assessing Spatial Ability Utilization with Multiple Physiological Measures

Many current and emerging systems for Cognitive State Assessment have yet to achieve the goals required for application for Augmented Cognition. Numerous efforts are working towards this goal but may lack the ability to be unified into a reliable and generalizable Cognitive State Gauge. The overall purpose of this effort is to determine under what conditions multiple minimally intrusive physiological sensors can be used together and validly applied to areas within a modular cognitive state assessment framework. This study investigated the utility of various measures in detecting changes in cognitive state. We examined the differences within the output from multiple physiological sensing devices under varying levels of task difficulty during a task that was highly dependent on spatial ability (SPA). Supportive evidence for a modular cognitive state gauge (MCSG) was revealed with the finding of significant results for several physiological measures on a novel spatial task.