Analysis of goal, feedback and rewards on sustained attention via machine learning.

Introduction: Sustaining attention is a notoriously difficult task as shown in a recent experiment where reaction times (RTs) and pupillometry data were recorded from 350 subjects in a 30-min vigilance task. Subjects were also presented with different types of goal, feedback, and reward.
Methods: In this study, we revisit this experimental data and solve three families of machine learning problems: (i) RT-regression problems, to predict subjects' RTs using all available data, (ii) RT-classification problems, to classify responses more broadly as attentive, semi-attentive, and inattentive, and (iii) to predict the subjects' experimental conditions from physiological data.
Results: After establishing that regressing RTs is in general a difficult task, we achieve better results classifying them in broader categories. We also successfully disambiguate subjects who received goals and rewards from those who did not. Finally, we quantify changes in accuracy when coarser features (averaged throughout multiple trials) are used. Interestingly, the machine learning pipeline selects different features depending on their resolution, suggesting that predictive physiological features are also resolution-specific.
Discussion: These findings highlight the potential of machine learning to advance research on sustained attention and behavior, particularly in studies incorporating pupillometry or other physiological measurements, offering new avenues for understanding and analysis.
Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
(Copyright © 2024 Fernando, Robison and Maia.)