Designing EEG Experiments for Studying the Brain

Chapter 1: Designing an EEG experiment

Abstract. This chapter describes the basics of electroencephalography (EEG) research and experiment design. At the beginning the fundamental EEG waves are briefly described. EEG experiments and related factors that can highly influence the experimental results,such as clear definition of study objectives, ethical issues, and proper sample size calculation are discussed. In addition, an example of experiment design is explained in detail.The well-known EEG data acquisition systems and stimulus presentation software are listed. Finally, general guidelines for EEG data collection are provided including general data acquisition setup, proper experiment design,preparation of participant, and EEG system check-up.

Keywords. EEG research; experiment design; ethical issues; ethical approval; sample size calculation;guidelines for EEG data acquisition

Chapter 2: Mental stress

Abstract. Mental stress is a disorder that highly influences the patient’s mood and behavior. It ranges from mild, including high blood pressure to severe diseases such as depression.This chapter explains the experimental design for mental stress level using EEG signals. Starting with the introduction, mental stress, the problem of stress, and anxiety are defined.The software and hardware used in this experiment are listed with brief description. Experiment design and protocol are explained in detail. The EEG data acquisition in stress and control conditions is discussed. Furthermore, the data description is provided including behavioral data as well as EEG data. Finally,relevant papers are listed that have utilized the dataset described in the chapter.

Keywords. Mental stress; anxiety; brain disorder; EEG; experiment design

Chapter 3: Major depressive disorder

Abstract. Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a mental disorder that severely affects the patient’s daily life routines.There are many symptoms, such as a constant sense of hopelessness, despair, and insomnia.The treatment of MDD is a challenging task for psychiatrists because there is no guarantee that the available antidepressants will work well for a certain patient.This chapter describes the proposed approach for treatment efficacies of MDD patients using EEG signals.The experiment design and protocol are explained in detail along with the EEG equipment and software used in this experiment. The description of EEG data is provided and the relevant papers that have utilized the dataset are listed.

Keywords. Major depressive disorder (MDD); treatment of MDD; responders and nonresponders; EEG; experiment design

Chapter 4: Epileptic seizures

Abstract. Epilepsy is a neurological disorder in which the neuronal activities are disrupted, resulting in seizures, unusual behavior and sensations, and loss of consciousness. The seizure activity is randomly occurred and the effects of seizure on brain waves can be recorded using electroencephalography (EEG).The EEG epilepsy research addresses two aspects of the disease, i.e., detection and prediction. Many computational algorithms have been developed for detection and prediction of seizure activity. However, the prediction of seizure activity is relatively hard.This chapter highlights the epilepsy disease and different types of seizures, and describes the available public EEG datasets,some of which are freely accessible. Useful links are provided where the free datasets can be downloaded.

Keywords. Epilepsydisease; seizures; EEG; detection and prediction; public datasets

Chapter 5: Alocohol addiction

Abstract. Alcohol drinking is a legal and widely accepted activity in society. However, when drinking crosses the line from social use to problem drinking, is considered as alcohol abuse. Alcohol addiction or alcoholism is a disease that can affect the health of the user physically as well as psychologically, and the effects of alcoholism can even be observed in Electroencephalography (EEG) signals. This chapter explains the experiment design for the screening of alcohol abusers and healthy participants using EEG signals.The objective is to provide a quantitative EEG-based screening method for the alcohol abuser.The research design and experiment procedure are explained in detail. Finally, the data description is provided along with the relevant papers that utilized the dataset recorded during this experiment.

Keywords. Alcohol addiction; experiment design; EEG; quantitative screening; diagnostic and statistical manual

Chapter 6: Passive polarized and active shutter 3D TVS

Abstract. Three-dimensional (3D) display technology has brought a revolution to the entertainment market since 2009, especially in movies and video games. Two types of 3D consumer electronics display technologies are common, i.e., active shuttered and passive polarized based displays. This chapter describes the experiment design used to study which one of these technologies is superior when compared with traditional 2D displays.This is done by using videos of various 3D movies as stimulus for the experiment. Electroencephalography (EEG) signals are recorded while watching 3D videos and the participants’ experience via simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ) is collected.This chapter also provides the description of EEG data and SSQ. Finally, relevant research papers are listed that utilized the dataset recorded in this experiment.

Keywords. Stereoscopic 3D technology; active shuttered; passive polarized; EEG; simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ); experiment design

Chapter 7: 2D and 3D educational contents

Abstract. Stereoscopic three-dimensional (S3D) technology has begun to grow into serious domains, such as education. Different 3D-based multimedia tools are available on the market for learning. However, it is not clear that what the effects of S3D educational contents on learning and memorization are. This chapter is related to learning and memorization using 3D and 2D multimedia educational tools. The experiment design is provided to compare learning with 3D tools compared to the traditional 2D tools. In addition, as learning is related to memory, the design of stimuli includes experiments for studying both short-term and long-term memory. Description of experimental design files, behavioral data, and EEG data is provided. Finally, relevant research papers that utilized the datasets are listed.

Keywords. S3D educational contents; passive polarized; learning and memory; EEG; experiment design

Chapter 8: Visual and cognitive fatigue during learning

Abstract. Despite the rapid and growing developments in three-dimensional (3D) technology, various complaints continue to be reported including 3D visual discomfort, visual fatigue, and mental fatigue.To assess these complaints, subjective methods, such as feedback questionnaires, and objective methods, such as eye blinking and physiological signals, are available. This chapter evaluates stereoscopic 3D educational contents for visual and cognitive fatigue during learning processing using event-related potentials extracted from the EEG signal. This is important as many studies have reported the effect of fatigue due to 3D multimedia tools, which can affect the memory retention process. The experiment design, which is a part of the previous chapter, is explained.The description of data and list of relevant published papers are provided.

Keywords. Event-related potentials; visual fatigue; cognitive fatigue; 3D multimedia tools; experiment design

Chapter 9: 3D video games

Abstract. Stereoscopic three-dimensional (S3D) technology has become famous in the entertainment market, especially in games.The contents of the games mostly contain fighting and violent scenes. However, it is not clear how the 3D-based violent games influence neuronal activity.This chapter uses two-dimensional (2D) and 3D games as stimuli to study two things: (1) the differences in brain activity for each of the gaming modes (2D and 3D) that result in different experiences for the subject; and (2) the effect of violent games on subjects’ brain activity. Hence the experiment discussed in this chapter addressestwo different questions.

Keywords. S3D technology; violent video games; EEG; experiment design; comparison of 2D and 3D video games

Chapter 10: Visually induced motion sickness

Abstract. The technical mechanism behind the three-dimensional (3D) scene uses disparity between two images to induce depth, which may cause conflict in vergence and accommodation response.The users may experience visual discomfort during watching 3D movies and some users who are intolerant to these discomforts may experience visually induced motion sickness (VIMS). This chapter is important as it provides an experiment design to study VIMS. VIMS has been reported in the form of nausea, headache, disorientation, and discomfort after watching 3D movies and after playing 3D games. Hence, a special movie is designed as stimulus to induce VIMS in the subjects. The experimental protocol is described in detail and the description of EEG and ECG data recorded in this experiment is provided along with relevant published papers.

Keywords. Visual induced motion sickness (VIMS); 3D movies; visual discomfort; EEG; experiment design

Chapter 11: Mobile phone calls

Abstract. Mobile phones have become a part of our daily life and are one of the most important technical gadgets that we carry with us all the time. A number of studies have reported contradictory findings about the effects of mobile phone usage on the human brain. This chapter addresses the effects of mobile phone calls on neuronal activities. It provides details on an experiment that was conducted using electroencephalography (EEG) to study the effects of mobile phones.The experiment involves four conditions, two with the right ear and two with the left ear. One of the conditions involves touching the ear while the other involves answering the phone without touching the ear by keeping it at a certain distance from the ear.The description of EEG data is given at the end of the chapter.

Keywords. Mobile phone calls; right ear; left ear; EEG; experiment design

Chapter 12: Drivers’ cognitive distraction

Abstract. This chapter deals with another important aspect of our lives: driving. Almost everyone is exposed to driving in one way or another. We either drive ourselves or we travel in a vehicle driven by others. It has been reported in many transport safety-related reports that the majority of accidents are due to the driver. Hence, in this chapter, experiment design is provided for studying an important parameter related to driving, i.e., driver cognitive distraction.The stimulus for studying cognitive distraction involves asking the subject to answer analytical and logical questions while driving to induce mental distraction. EEGs signal are recorded while the subject drives.

Keywords. Transport safety; accidents; driver cognitive distraction; EEG; experiment design

Chapter 13: Drivers’ drowsiness

Abstract. This chapter addresses another aspect of driving, which is drivers’ drowsiness. Almost everyone is exposed to driving in one way or another. We are either driving ourselves or we travel in a vehicle driven by others. It has been reported in many transport safety-related reports that the majority of accidents are due to the driver. Hence, in this chapter, experiment design is provided for studying an important parameter related to driving, i.e., drivers’ drowsiness. For drivers’ drowsiness, the subject drives on a long road with monotonous environment for a long time. EEG signals are recorded while the subject drives.

Keywords. Transport safety; traffic accidents; drivers’ drowsiness; EEG; driving simulator

Chapter 14: Working memory and attention

Abstract. This chapter is related to working memory (WM) and attention.There are three processes related to memory, namely, memory formation, memory retention, and retrieval.WM and attention interact closely during memory formation and manipulation. The experiment in the chapter specifically addresses the memory formation and maintenance stages. Attention, distraction, and interruption are used in the stimuli to study the memory stages.EEG experimental design is explained in detail and a description of data recorded in this experiment is provided.Relevant research papers that have used this dataset are listed.

Keywords. Working memory; attention; EEG; experiment design; memory formation

Appendices

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