Evaluating Cognitive Workload With the Auditory Stroop Task While Using a Lower Limb Prosthesis: a Feasibility Study.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Rehabilitation Engineering

Background:

• Assessing cognitive workload is crucial for understanding user performance with assistive devices.
• Dual-task paradigms are often used to simulate real-world conditions and measure cognitive load.
• Existing methods for workload assessment may not be sensitive enough in complex interactive scenarios.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility of the auditory Stroop task for assessing cognitive workload.
• To compare the auditory Stroop task with backward counting in a dual-task paradigm.
• To investigate the utility of these tasks when interacting with passive and direct EMG-controlled (dEMG) devices.

Main Methods:

• Participants performed a backward counting task and an auditory Stroop task concurrently with device interaction.
• Performance was measured under two conditions: a passive device and a dEMG-controlled device.
• Participant interviews were conducted to gather qualitative insights into task strategies.

Main Results:

• The auditory Stroop task demonstrated more consistent detection of dual-task costs under high cognitive demand.
• The backward counting task showed minimal and inconsistent performance decrements.
• Participants reported using strategies for backward counting, but not for the auditory Stroop task, suggesting differential sensitivity to workload.

Conclusions:

• The auditory Stroop task appears more sensitive to cognitive workload variations than backward counting in dual-task scenarios.
• Findings suggest the auditory Stroop task's potential for workload assessment in lower limb prosthesis use.
• A small sample size limits definitive conclusions; larger studies are required for validation.