Actividad eléctrica no lineal de las ondas beta cerebrales durante una prueba de atención sostenida.

Introduction: Attention is a brain process where selectively focuses one of the stimuli of the environment and discards the remaining information, being a relevant function to relate efficiently with the environment. Aim: To study the nonlinear behavior of the beta oscillation (13-30 Hz), evaluated through the chaos balance/brain order (Hurst exponent), during the execution of a sustained attention test in university students. Method: The sample consisted of 13 male university students. For the electroencephalographic recording, the brain-interface device Emotiv Epocø Research Edition was used using the frontal, temporal and occipital lobe registers. The frequency range of 13 to 30 Hz (beta wave) was analyzed. The Toulouse-Piéron test was used to evaluate sustained attention. Results: during the first two minutes of the test the values of the Hurst exponents present asymmetries in the prefrontal and occipital region in three subjects with greater tendency to chaos in the left region and in the temporal region in eight students with greater tendency to chaos in the right region. This situation changes as the minutes of the test go by. Conclusion: Hurst exponents tend to decrease during the resolution of the attention test, this allows for greater processing flexibility during the test. There is a greater tendency to chaos in the right temporal region that is related to tone recognition and critical content in sustained attention tests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]