Commentary - Journal of Neuroinformatics and Neuroimaging (2021) Volume 6, Issue 1

Electroencephalography.

Shawn Kruger^*

Editorial Office, Journal of Neuroinformatics and Neuroimaging, London, United Kingdom

Corresponding Author:

Shawn Kruger
Editorial Office Journal of Neuroinformatics and Neuroimaging
London
United Kingdom
E-mail: i_kruger51@gmail.com

Accepted date: January 02, 2021

Commentary

An Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a test that uses small metal discs (electrodes) connected to your scalp to detect electrical activity in your brain. Even when you're sleeping, your brain cells communicate with each other via electrical impulses. On an EEG recording, this activity appears as wavy lines [1]. The electrical activity of the cortex, the outer layer of the brain, is recorded during EEG. The transmission of electricity created by the cortex is captured by electrodes on the scalp, which are then recorded on a computer, thanks to a conductive gel containing salt and electrolytes. The study of event-related potentials is one technique to analyse EEG data. An ERP is a specific neural response elicited by the brain in response to a specific event [2]. ERP waveforms are easily detectable changes in the EEG signal that occur at the same time as a specific event, and can be used to time lock brain activity to a variety of cognitive and behavioural activities.

ERP waveforms can be interpreted in a variety of ways. The amplitude and latency of a waveform component are widely used to evaluate ERPs. At a given time in the ERP, amplitude is connected to how much effort or input is put into a specific cognitive function, with more cognitive effort correlating to higher ERP amplitude. The peak amplitude is the highest point of a certain portion of the waveform, indicating the maximum amount of energy exerted in the process at that specific time [3]. ERP latency, on the other hand, is the amount of time it takes for a certain portion of the ERP waveform to occur, measured in milliseconds. The number of milliseconds in a waveform segment reflects how long it took an individual to respond to a stimulus. The P300, which is a substantial and positive component of the ERP waveform that peaks roughly 300 milliseconds after the start of a stimulus, is the largest and most commonly studied component of the ERP.

The inhibitory task, which includes the P300 component, is known as the duty of "Go or No-Go" The Go/No-Go task is a popular cognitive exercise. Due to their high temporal resolution during these inhibitory processes, a Go/No-Go cognitive task is an effective technique to analyse ERPs. A typical Go/No-Go task consists of a Go condition in which participants are required to respond to a target stimulus with a defined response. These Go trials are interspersed with No-Go trials, which require individuals to block their response after perceiving a different signal. Participants are meant to respond positively to Go trials and negatively to No-Go trials [4]. Because of its widespread use, robust EEG output, and ease of experimental execution, measuring P300 during a Go/No-Go task is excellent for evaluating EEG devices. Understanding the brain activity linked to mental health concerns could aid in identifying recovery strengths and weaknesses, as well as developing personalised treatments to target specific issues. EEG data is often gathered using a wired system with numerous cables and connections.

References

1. Kaneko WM, Phillips EL, Riley EP et al. EEG findings in fetal alcohol syndrome and down syndrome children. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1996;98(1):20-28.
2.  Li Y, Zhou G, Graham D, et al. Towards an EEG-based brain-computer interface for online robot control. Multimed Tools Appl. 2016;75:7999-8017.
3. Jasper H H. The ten-twenty electrode system of the international federation. Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology. 1958;10(2):371-375.
4. Christian Muhl, Camille Jeunet, Fabien Lotte. EEG-based workload estimation across affective contexts. Frontiers in Neuroscience Section Neuroprosthetics. 2014;8:114.