First Principles of Physio-Informatic Systems: Neurocosmology
Physio-informatics is a new systems model for linking human physiologic systems to information systems in the most general way. Physio-informatics is used here to denote a systems based, physiologically robust reference architecture for designing and refining interactive human-computer interface systems in ways that increase operational throughput of information. In this dissertation, a systems model for interactive human-computer interface systems is developed. This model is a physiologically based reference architecture for designing and developing interactive human computer interface systems to match the human nervous system’s ability to transduce, transmit, and render to consciousness the necessary information to interact intelligently with information. It is hypothesized that an understanding of human neuro-physiology allows for the exploitation of predictable adaptive physiological mechanisms. A vocabulary and notational system for physio-informatic systems is derived and developed. A mathematical analysis of the complexity in electrophysiological data is established. An array of human computer interface devices was used in gathering data. Graphical techniques, which extend the information content, are used to illustrate the multiplicity of dynamic structures in the data. A series of experiments and explorations were performed that mapped the flow of information as it exchanged between the human and the computer. Information flow is mapped for psychomotor performance tasks, cognitive function tasks and communicative tasks. An increased throughput by extending the perceptual dimensionality of information presented to the human and enhancing the expressional capacity of the human to convey intent to the informatic system. Quantitative human performance assessment tools for clinical, educational and vocational applications have been developed and refined, and interactive systems for the disabled which empower them to participate more actively in their own environment have been prototyped and investigated.
Bioinformatics, Computational Neuroscience, Physiology, Computer Simulation; Medical Informatics; Expert Systems; Neurophysiology.
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