Fundamentals of NeuroIS by René Riedl & Pierre-Majorique Léger

Author:René Riedl & Pierre-Majorique Léger
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Berlin, Heidelberg

3.3 Measurement of the Peripheral Nervous System

The Peripheral Nervous System (PNS) refers to all nervous tissue outside the central nervous systems. PNS activity can be assessed through the use of (i) physiological measures, (ii) ocular measures, and (iii) newer tools such as automatic facial feature detection systems. The PNS can be divided in two subsystems: the autonomic nervous system and the somatic nervous system. In this section, we review tools that can be used by NeuroIS researchers to measure the PNS, including electrocardiogram, galvanometer, electromyography, oculometry, and automated analysis of facial features.

Physiological measures provide a nonintrusive way to assess a number of variables related to a task (Ikehara and Crosby 2005). Physiological measures include, but are not limited to, heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV), respiration rate, and electrodermal activity. These measures permit the researcher to infer the inner states of participants. For example, a person’s cognitive load or stress can be assessed by heart rate variability (Riedl 2013). As another example, attentional processes can be assessed by observing the respiration rate (Ikehara and Crosby 2005). It is important to recognize that emotional states tend to influence all physiological measures. Because they are all under the control of the sympathetic and parasympathetic autonomic nervous systems, they both respond to stress and vary as a function of intensity (Pomeranz et al. 1985).

If compared to tools that are related to the measurement of the CNS, physiological measures typically produce only slight interference with an experimental task. An aspect important for IS as an applied discipline is that several physiological measures can be assessed over longer periods in natural environments (e.g., for studying technostress in organizations). For this condition, the term “NeuroIS in situ” has been coined recently by Fischer and Riedl (2014). However, longer-term monitoring of physiological measurements requires the availability of tools with the mobility for use in field settings. Measurement of the heart rate or blood pressure on a 24-h basis is an example. Such tools, importantly, can usually be applied in ways that are independent from the subjects’ posture (e.g., standing, walking, or sitting).

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