Photocredit: Chloë Ellingson
It is challenging to determine the level of connection within a dyad if one person has minimal ability to move or speak. Perceiving dynamic levels of interpersonal connection is particularly important for caregivers of non-communicative individuals and has the potential to improve quality of care and quality of life for both members of the dyad. Physiological synchrony has emerged as a novel tool for assessing moments of connection between two individuals. In this project, we aim to explore different ways of calculating interpersonal synchrony between individuals with dementia and their caregivers.
We recorded three autonomic nervous system (ANS) signals using biomusic technology from individuals with dementia and their caregivers as they participated in a movement program. The physiological signals of all participants were synchronized to a video recording, which was analyzed to identify observed moments of interpersonal connection. We are exploring a measure of physiological concordance (the single session index), and an information theory based metric (normalized symbolic transfer entropy) to characterize their patterns with respect to these observed moments of connection. Our hypothesis is that the measures will provide complementary insights to the dynamics of interpersonal connections, which can be extended to individuals with advanced dementia.
This project is currently being led by Dannie Fu and Erica Flaten, and is funded by a Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Discovery Grant.