Neuroscience and the Future
of Human-Computer Interaction
Brad S. Minnery
The MITRE Corporation | bminnery@mitre.org
Michael S. Fine
The MITRE Corporation | mfine@mitre.org
cal toolkit—measuring hidden
metrics like interest, affect, or
satisfaction. Even further down
the road, neuroscience offers
the potential to truly close the
gap between humans and computers through the development
of devices that engage directly
with the brain. The aim of this
article is to describe these and
other synergies between neuroscience and HCI and to make
a case for greater collaboration
between the two communities.
[ 1] Card, S., T. Moran,
and A. Newell. The
Psychology of Human-Computer Interaction.
Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum,
1983.
If Carl Sagan had been a neuroscientist instead of an astronomer, he might have mused wondrously about the “billions and
billions” of neurons that make
up the human brain—
approximately one hundred billion neurons with each neuron wired to
communicate with thousands of
neighbors. This massive mesh
of computation gives rise to the
impressive spectrum of human
cognitive capabilities. To date,
most HCI researchers have
focused on readily observable
behavioral metrics (for example,
the speed of a keystroke or the
accuracy of a mouse click) rather than on the mental machinery operating under the surface.
Modern neuroscience offers HCI
researchers a way to “lift the
veil” on user cognition, greatly
expanding the available tool kit
for both research and design.
Neuroscience is the study of
the brain and nervous system.
Although the field concerns
itself with the study of neu-robiological systems at the
smallest scales (molecules
and genes), neuroscience also
works to understand how the
nervous system contributes to
macro-level behaviors of interest to HCI researchers. Over
the past 20 years, our understanding of brain function
has expanded dramatically—
partially driven by advances
in experimental methodology,
but also enabled by a swell of
research funding for the study
of brain-related disorders like
autism, Parkinson’s disease,
and traumatic brain injury. This
growth is reflected in the scale
and diversity of membership
in the Society of Neuroscience.
Founded in 1969, its ranks have
doubled in the past 20 years,
to more than 38,000 members.
A quick tour of the society’s
annual meeting reveals the
broad range of cognitive functions that neuroscientists are
studying from a biological
perspective—from perception
to decision to action.
These advances in neuroscientific discovery are poised
to have a profound impact on
multiple facets of HCI research
and system design. For starters, neuroscience enables us to
build more accurate and robust
models of human cognitive
functions. These models may
allow us to evaluate usability and predict user behavior
through computation alone. In
addition, neuroscience research
methods will allow HCI
researchers to answer questions
that previously lay outside the
reach of their methodologi-
Building Better Models
The idea that one could use
cognitive models in lieu of real
humans as a way of reducing
the time/costs associated with
designing an interface and
conducting usability studies is
not in itself novel [ 1]. This so-called “engineering” approach
employs sophisticated cognitive
models—such as EPIC, SOAR,
and ACT-R—to predict how a
user (or class of users) might
interact with a given interface
to perform a specified task.
These models represent the
cumulative insights of decades
of psychological and behavioral
research, and their ability to
replicate human behavior in
some narrow domains has been
remarkable. However, a common criticism leveled against
