Future Challenges of Mobile Learning in Web-Based Instruction - Web-Based Engineering Education: Critical Design and Effective Tools - page 70

Table 1. Physiological response measurements

Physiological Response Measurement Unit of Measure Observed Anatomical Entity

Frequency (Hz)
Amplitude

Electroencephalography (EEG) Brain/Electrical

mL O 2 /min
Local Sp0 2

Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Brain/Body

mL O 2 /min
Sp0 2

Functional Near Infrared Resonance Imaging (fNIR) Brain/Body/Blood

Beats Per Minute
(BPM)
Pulse Waveform

Blood Volume Pulse Cardiac Activity

Beats Per Minute
(BPM)
Sp0 2

Blood Tissue Oxygen Saturation & Pulse Oximetry
(Near Infrared Spectrophotometrics)

Cardiac Activity
Cardiopulmonary

Frequency (Hz)
Beats Per Minute
(BPM)

Auscultation Technique Cardiac Activity

Beats Per Minute
(BPM)

Arterial Pulse Cardiac Activity

Millimeters of mercury
(mmHg)

Arterial Blood Pressure Cardiac Activity

Beats Per Minute
(BPM)
Amplitude
Frequency (Hz)

Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG) Cardiac/Electrical Activity

Variation in Heart Rate dur-
ing Respiration

Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) Cardiopulmonary

Tidal Volume Estimation: Inductive Plethysmogra-
phy

Functional Residual Capac-
ity (FRC) Milliliters mL

Cardiopulmonary

Dimensional change in
Length

Strain Gauge Analysis Pulmonary

Parts Per Million
(PPM)

Carbon Dioxide (CO 2 ) Concentration Analysis Cardiopulmonary

Saccade
Dwell Time

Eye Movement Tracking Eye/Movement

Skin/Gross Body Electrical
Conductivity-Resistance

Galvanic Skin Response (GSR) Microsiemens Microhoms

Fahrenheit
Celsius

Temperature Gross Body or Local

The reason for the validity of physiological re-
sponse and arousal as indicators of emotional state
and engagement is that there is an identified con-
nection between affective state (emotional state)
and the sympathetic nervous system. Hence, emo-
tion and engagement may trigger varying physi-
ological responses in different people. According
to McQuiggan, Lee and Lester (2006), “Because
physiological responses are directly triggered by

changes in affective state, biofeedback data such as
heart rate and galvanic skin response can be used
to infer affective state changes” (p. 60). However,
it is still unclear which details and aspects of the
emotional state are reflected by which particular
physiological responses, although there have been
advances in the temporal and spatial resolution
of physiological response measurement devices.
Regarding the current state of research concerning