Computer-controlled electrical stimulation of facial muscles by facial neuromuscular electrical stimulation (fNMES): Hardware and software solutions.

electrical stimulation fNMES facial feedback facial muscles hardware

Journal

Journal of neuroscience methods
ISSN: 1872-678X
Titre abrégé: J Neurosci Methods
Pays: Netherlands
ID NLM: 7905558

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
24 Aug 2024
Historique:
received: 21 05 2024
revised: 14 08 2024
accepted: 21 08 2024
medline: 27 8 2024
pubmed: 27 8 2024
entrez: 26 8 2024
Statut: aheadofprint

Résumé

Computer controlled electrical stimulation of facial muscles is a promising method to study facial feedback effects, though little guidance is available for new adopters. Facial Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (fNMES) offers a spatially and temporally precise means of manipulating facial muscles during experiments, and can be combined with EEG to study the neurological basis of facial feedback effects. Precise delivery of stimulation requires hardware and software solutions to integrate stimulators and a stimulus-presenting computer. We provide open-source hardware schematics and relevant computer code in order to achieve this integration, so as to facilitate the use of fNMES in the laboratory. Hardware schematics are provided for the building of a bespoke control module, which allows researchers to finely control stimulator output whilst participants complete computer tasks. In addition, we published code that new adopters of NMES can use within their experiments to control the module and send event triggers to another computer. These hard- and software solutions were successfully used to investigate the effects of facial muscle activation on felt and perceived emotion. We summarise these findings and discuss the integration of fNMES with EEG and peripheral physiological measures. Our inexpensive hardware solution allows fNMES parameters to be computer controlled, and thus allows to stimulate facial muscles with high precision. This opens up new possibilities to investigate, for example, facial feedback effects. We provide tools and guidance to build a control module in order to precisely deliver electrical stimulation to facial muscles using a stimulus computer (while recording EEG or other peripheral physiology).

Sections du résumé

BACKGROUND BACKGROUND
Computer controlled electrical stimulation of facial muscles is a promising method to study facial feedback effects, though little guidance is available for new adopters.
NEW METHOD METHODS
Facial Neuromuscular Electrical Stimulation (fNMES) offers a spatially and temporally precise means of manipulating facial muscles during experiments, and can be combined with EEG to study the neurological basis of facial feedback effects. Precise delivery of stimulation requires hardware and software solutions to integrate stimulators and a stimulus-presenting computer. We provide open-source hardware schematics and relevant computer code in order to achieve this integration, so as to facilitate the use of fNMES in the laboratory.
RESULTS RESULTS
Hardware schematics are provided for the building of a bespoke control module, which allows researchers to finely control stimulator output whilst participants complete computer tasks. In addition, we published code that new adopters of NMES can use within their experiments to control the module and send event triggers to another computer. These hard- and software solutions were successfully used to investigate the effects of facial muscle activation on felt and perceived emotion. We summarise these findings and discuss the integration of fNMES with EEG and peripheral physiological measures.
COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS METHODS
Our inexpensive hardware solution allows fNMES parameters to be computer controlled, and thus allows to stimulate facial muscles with high precision. This opens up new possibilities to investigate, for example, facial feedback effects.
CONCLUSIONS CONCLUSIONS
We provide tools and guidance to build a control module in order to precisely deliver electrical stimulation to facial muscles using a stimulus computer (while recording EEG or other peripheral physiology).

Identifiants

DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2024.110266 PMID: 39187073
pubmed: 39187073
pii: S0165-0270(24)00211-5
doi: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2024.110266
pii:
doi:

Types de publication

Journal Article

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

IM

Pagination

110266

Informations de copyright

Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Déclaration de conflit d'intérêts

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest

Auteurs

J Baker (J)

Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom. Electronic address: joshua.baker@essex.ac.uk.

T Efthimiou (T)

Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom.

A Gartus (A)

Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

A Elsenaar (A)

The Royal Academy of Art, The Hague, Netherlands.

M Mehu (M)

Department of Psychology, Webster Vienna Private University, Vienna, Austria.

S Korb (S)

Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom; Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.

Classifications MeSH