Quantification of searching behavior in human using virtual reality and prediction of cognitive function

• Project/Area Number: 18K18140
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 61060:Kansei informatics-related
• Research Institution: Institute of Physical and Chemical Research
• Principal Investigator: Abe Masato 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 革新知能統合研究センター, 研究員 (60758027)
• Project Period (FY): 2018-04-01 – 2022-03-31
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2021)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,510,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥810,000); Fiscal Year 2021: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000); Fiscal Year 2020: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000); Fiscal Year 2019: ¥910,000 (Direct Cost: ¥700,000、Indirect Cost: ¥210,000); Fiscal Year 2018: ¥780,000 (Direct Cost: ¥600,000、Indirect Cost: ¥180,000)
• Keywords: 探索行動 / 臨界現象 / 脳 / 会話 / ベキ則 / ネットワーク構造 / ニューラルネットワーク / レヴィウォーク / 非線形ダイナミクス / Zipf則 / 活動量データ / 臨界点 / 時系列解析 / 認知機能 / 認知症 / バーチャルリアリティ / バイオロギング

Outline of Final Research Achievements

It is known that the brain exhibits high performance when it is adjusted to a critical point between a stable state and unstable one. In this study, we mathematically revealed that the brain exhibits functional exploratory behavior when its state is adjusted to a critical point, and furthermore, empirical data on human showed that people with higher cognitive function exhibit such exploratory behavior. This finding is expected to provide fundamental insights into the extraction of signals for early detection of cognitive decline and the development of intervention methods to prevent cognitive decline.

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

行動と脳の関係を臨界現象と探索行動の観点から明らかにしたことで、これまで入力と出力という観点から明らかにされてきた脳の動作原理だけでなく、脳の自発的な活動と行動の関係に関する基礎知見を得ることができた。また、人間の日常的なデータから脳の状態の良し悪しを定量化することが可能になり、認知機能低下を早期発見するためのシグナルを抽出することや、認知機能低下を防ぐための介入手法の開発に対して基礎的な知見を与えると期待できる。

Research Products

• [Journal Article] Scaling laws in natural conversations among elderly people (2021)
  • Author(s): Abe Masato S., Otake-Matsuura Mihoko
  • Journal Title: PLOS ONE Volume: 16 Issue: 2 Pages: 1-14
  • DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0246884
  • Peer Reviewed / Open Access
• [Journal Article] Functional advantages of Levy walks emerging near a critical point (2020)
  • Author(s): Abe Masato S.
  • Journal Title: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Volume: 117 Issue: 39 Pages: 24336-24344
  • DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2001548117
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] Lévy walks emerging near a critical point (2020)
  • Author(s): Masato S. Abe
  • Journal Title: bioRxiv Volume: -
  • DOI: 10.1101/2020.01.27.920801
  • Open Access
• [Journal Article] Scaling laws in spoken language associated with cognitive functions (2019)
  • Author(s): Masato S. Abe, Mihoko Otake-Matsuura
  • Journal Title: bioRxiv Volume: -
  • DOI: 10.1101/841247
  • Open Access
• [Presentation] Functional advantages of Levy walks emerging as critical phenomena (2021)
  • Author(s): Masato S. Abe
  • Organizer: 日本生態学会
• [Presentation] 臨界点付近でみられるLevy walkの機能的利点 (2020)
  • Author(s): 阿部真人
  • Organizer: 日本数理生物学会
• [Presentation] Scaling laws in spoken-language associated with cognitive functions (2019)
  • Author(s): Masato S. Abe and Mihoko Otake-Matsuura
  • Organizer: 日本数理生物学会
• [Presentation] Levy walks emerge near a critical point (2019)
  • Author(s): Masato S. Abe
  • Organizer: SWARM 2019
  • Int'l Joint Research
• [Remarks] 生物のレヴィウォークにおける情報処理上の利点を発見 －臨界現象から生じる行動パターン－
  • URL: https://www.riken.jp/press/2020/20200917_1/index.html