Brainwaves to Mars with Olav Krigolson

Faculty of Education

Dr. Olav Krigolson is an associate professor in the School of Exercise Science, Physical & Health Education at UVic and the lead investigator of the Theoretical and Applied Neuroscience Laboratory. His research uses brain imaging to attempt to understand how we learn and make decisions. In this episode, Krigolson discusses his work with portable Electroencephalograms (EEG systems) and their potential application. Most notably, he is collaborating with NASA on a Mars simulation mission. Krigolson and his team are using Muse headbands to monitor participants’ brain waves from his lab at UVic as they complete their mission at the Mars habitat in Hawaii. “When I finished my PhD here in 2008, if you had told me that you could have a headband that you could buy at Best Buy that would accurately measure brain function, I would have told you that you were living in fantasy land,” says Krigolson. “And now, less than ten years later, there is a headband that can do that. So just like our cell phones got smaller and better and our computers got more powerful, brain imaging has become mobile and easy to use.”