Pérez-Pacheco Argelia, Rodríguez Morales Fernando Yael, Misaghian Khashayar, Faubert Jocelyn, Lugo Arce Jesus Eduardo
Directorate of Research, Hospital General de México "Dr. Eduardo Liceaga", Mexico City 06720, Mexico.
Research and Technological Development Unit (UIDT), Hospital General de México "Dr. Eduardo Liceaga", Mexico City 06720, Mexico.
Biology (Basel). 2024 Aug 18;13(8):631. doi: 10.3390/biology13080631.
Noise is commonly seen as a disturbance but can influence any system it interacts with. This influence may not always be desirable, but sometimes it can improve the system's performance. For example, stochastic resonance is a phenomenon where adding the right amount of noise to a weak signal makes it easier to detect. This is known as sub-threshold detection. This sub-threshold detection's natural fingerprint is the fact that the threshold values follow an inverse U-shaped curve as the noise intensity increases. The minimum threshold value is the point of maximum sensitivity and represents the optimal point that divides the dynamics in two. Below that point, we can find the beneficial noise branch, where the noise can facilitate better detection. Above that point, the common detrimental noise concept can be found: adding noise hinders signal detection. The nervous system controls the movements and bodily functions in the human body. By reducing the sensory thresholds, we can improve the balance of these functions. Additionally, researchers have wondered if noise could be applied to different senses or motor mechanisms to enhance our abilities. In this work, noise is used to improve human reaction times. We tested the hypothesis that visual reaction times decrease significantly when the subject's perception is in the beneficial noise branch and closer to the optimal point than outside of this condition. Auditory noise was introduced in 101 human subjects using an interface capable of searching for the right amount of noise to place the subject in the beneficial noise branch close to the optimal point. When comparing the results, the reaction times decreased when the subjects were at the optimal point compared to when the subjects were outside of such conditions. These results reveal the possibility of using this approach to enhance human performance in tasks requiring faster reaction times, such as sports.
噪声通常被视为一种干扰，但它会影响与之相互作用的任何系统。这种影响并非总是有益的，但有时它可以改善系统的性能。例如，随机共振是一种现象，即向微弱信号添加适量噪声会使其更易于检测。这被称为阈下检测。这种阈下检测的自然特征是，随着噪声强度增加，阈值会呈现倒U形曲线。最小阈值是最大灵敏度点，代表将动态过程分为两部分的最佳点。在该点以下，我们可以找到有益噪声分支，在此处噪声有助于更好地检测。在该点以上，则是常见的有害噪声概念：添加噪声会阻碍信号检测。神经系统控制人体的运动和身体机能。通过降低感官阈值，我们可以改善这些机能的平衡。此外，研究人员一直在思考噪声是否可以应用于不同的感官或运动机制以增强我们的能力。在这项研究中，噪声被用于缩短人类的反应时间。我们测试了这样一个假设：当受试者的感知处于有益噪声分支且比不在此条件下更接近最佳点时，视觉反应时间会显著缩短。使用一个能够搜索适量噪声以使受试者处于接近最佳点的有益噪声分支的界面，对101名人类受试者引入了听觉噪声。比较结果时发现，与受试者不在此条件下相比，当他们处于最佳点时反应时间缩短了。这些结果揭示了使用这种方法来提高人类在需要更快反应时间的任务（如运动）中的表现的可能性。
