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Assessment of cognitive load through photoplethysmography and bioimpedance responses during mental arithmetic tasks
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  • Published: 05 February 2026

Assessment of cognitive load through photoplethysmography and bioimpedance responses during mental arithmetic tasks

  • Dang Nguyen Huynh1,2,
  • Thao Nguyen Tran1,2,
  • Khang Thanh Tran1,2,
  • Nguyen Khoa Le1,2,
  • Cao Dang Le1,2,
  • Huu-Xuan Mai1,2,
  • Quang-Linh Huynh1,2 &
  • …
  • Trung-Hau Nguyen1,2 

Scientific Reports , Article number:  (2026) Cite this article

We are providing an unedited version of this manuscript to give early access to its findings. Before final publication, the manuscript will undergo further editing. Please note there may be errors present which affect the content, and all legal disclaimers apply.

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  • Engineering
  • Health care
  • Neuroscience

Abstract

Accurate assessment of cognitive load is vital in cognitive research and human–machine interaction. This study investigates a multimodal approach for classifying graded cognitive load levels using cardiovascular signals derived from photoplethysmography (PPG) and impedance plethysmography (IPG). Data were collected from 15 healthy adults performing mental arithmetic tasks of increasing difficulty (Rest, Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3). Carotid PPG was used as a global indicator of cerebral perfusion, while frontal IPG captured localized changes in regional blood volume. Machine learning algorithms, including Decision Trees, Random Forest, and XGBoost, were applied to discriminate between workload levels. Among these models, Random Forest achieved the highest performance, reaching 96% accuracy in subject-dependent classification. Subject-independent accuracy was lower (66%), reflecting substantial inter-subject variability. IPG-derived features were among the most influential contributors to workload discrimination, highlighting the role of localized neurovascular responses to cognitive demand. These findings support the potential of PPG–IPG fusion as a noninvasive and physiologically grounded technique for continuous monitoring of cognitive workload.

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Data Availability

Data used and analyzed in this study can be obtained from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Applied Science, Ho Chi Minh City University of Technology (HCMUT), 268 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Dien Hong Ward, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam

    Dang Nguyen Huynh, Thao Nguyen Tran, Khang Thanh Tran, Nguyen Khoa Le, Cao Dang Le, Huu-Xuan Mai, Quang-Linh Huynh & Trung-Hau Nguyen

  2. Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, 700000, Vietnam

    Dang Nguyen Huynh, Thao Nguyen Tran, Khang Thanh Tran, Nguyen Khoa Le, Cao Dang Le, Huu-Xuan Mai, Quang-Linh Huynh & Trung-Hau Nguyen

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Contributions

D.N.H., T.N.T., K.T.T., and N.K.L. conceived the experiments, D.N.H., T.N.T., K.T.T., and N.K.L. conducted the experiments, D.N.H. and T.N.T. analysed the results, C.D.L., H.X.M., Q.L.H., and T.H.N. wrote the manuscript. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Trung-Hau Nguyen.

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Huynh, D.N., Tran, T.N., Tran, K.T. et al. Assessment of cognitive load through photoplethysmography and bioimpedance responses during mental arithmetic tasks. Sci Rep (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38782-3

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  • Received: 28 September 2025

  • Accepted: 31 January 2026

  • Published: 05 February 2026

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-38782-3

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Keywords

  • Arithmetic tasks
  • Bioimpedance
  • Photoplethysmography
  • Cognitive load
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