Silent vs. Sound: EEG-Based Investigation of Uniform Auditory Stimuli During a Serious Game

This paper investigates how uniform auditory cues (UACs) influence cognitive performance and brain activity during a serious memory game based on the Corsi Block-Tapping Test. Fourteen healthy participants (9 females, 5 males) performed the task under two experimental conditions: visual-only and visual with UACs, while EEG signals were continuously recorded. The serious game was designed to measure spatial memory performance and reaction times, and EEG data were analyzed to capture brain responses across multiple frequency bands. Preliminary results revealed that the presence of UACs significantly increased total response times, indicating a higher cognitive load. EEG analysis also showed distinct patterns of neural activation, with UACs associated with increased gamma and alpha power, and non-UAC trials showing elevated delta and theta activity. These findings suggest that even simple and repetitive auditory cues can modulate memory-related cognitive processes and neural dynamics during gameplay, offering implications for the design of neuroadaptive and multimodal serious games.