Dottorato in MORFOGENESI E INGEGNERIA TISSUTALE

Titolo della tesi: Neurophysiological characterization of cognitive and motivational processes for an advanced assessment of Human Resources.

In the rapidly evolving landscape of Industry 4.0, the integration of technologies and neuroscience has transformed the way to work and the work environment. Nowadays, organizations are focusing on the development of a positive work environment and well-being, generating benefits for the organization itself, in terms of worker’s performance, and for the worker, for example reducing personal distress and promoting healthy habits. Professionals occupying managerial positions are primarily involved in challenging tasks characterized by high cognitive load and requiring remarkable cognitive resources. In the search for operational excellence, leaders constantly face a myriad of challenges under pressure, therefore understanding how the brain process information and manages stressful situation is a fundamental driver of organizational performance. Conventional methods for assessing user’s cognitive and motivational processes are prone to several biases therefore, a neuroscientific approach could become useful to help and improve skills evaluations and guarantee worker well-being. This is the overarching aim of neuromanagement research, that is still in the early stages of development and also practical and standardized applications are in evolving. The aim of my PhD thesis is to investigate the neurophysiological phenomena underpinning worker’s cognitive and motivational processes, in order to validate a methodology for objectively assessing Human Resources, especially in terms of mental effort, motivation and stress indicators. The experimental implant of my PhD project was divided in two phases. The first phase was a large protocol, in laboratory settings, consisting of a complex sequence of cognitive exercises and video stimuli tasks designed to elicit cognitive and motivational processes, to be characterized through a neurophysiological analysis. In the context of the study, the tasks can be broadly categorized into two types: logical test employed to investigate cognitive and stress related processes, and video stimuli selected from a literature database to explore motivational processes, particularly the approach-withdrawal behaviours. In particular, Electroencephalography (EEG) was deployed to characterize and measure the Approach-Withdrawal model and the Mental Effort, while Photopletismography (PPG) and Electrodermal Activity (EDA) were used to evaluate the Stress and the Mental Effort as well. In particular, the EEG analysis has been divided into two steps: a topographical analysis of EEG Power performed over ten sub-band frequencies in order to evaluate significant activity patterns elicited during mental processes, and then the definition of neurophysiological indicators that could describe these observed phenomena. The results demonstrated that the activity in Theta and Alpha bands over the F3 and F4 channels, and in BetaHigh over F3 channel, are correlated with the Approach-Withdrawal phenomenon, effectively giving the ability to discriminate between positive and negative video stimuli. Furthermore, cognitive processes elicited during a logical test were differentiated based on an increase in EEG theta rhythms associated with Mental Effort, as well as the increasing in Skin conductance level and Heart Rate, that are related to the Stress. Also, the measure of ocular blinks computed from EEG has been demonstrated to be an indicator of attention and so the overall cognitive engagement. In conclusion, the results showcased how the methodology of the experimental protocol could be implemented in an online application, providing an additional and valuable approach to the conventional assessment methods in the field of Human Resources. This has been the object of the second and final phase, where a proof-of-concept has been employed in a real working environment to demonstrate the practical feasibility of such innovative approach. The implementation of neuroscientific tools thus offers the potential to gain valuable insights often blind to an external expert, improving the reliability and performance of company processes as well as to keep under control the workers’ well-being.