Electrophysiological approaches in the study of cognitive development outside the lab

LIPINA SJ; KAMIENKOWSKI JE; PIETTO ML

Congreso; Latin American Brain Mapping Network (LABMAN); 2017

Latin American Brain Mapping Network (LABMAN) - Organization for Human Brain Mapping

The electroencephalographical (EEG) level of analysis of cognitive development provides high-temporal resolution information of the neural activity underlying the dynamics of cognitive processes. Thus, such methodologies have important implications in building knowledge on cognitive development during childhood. However, EEG research is not generally applied beyond laboratory settings, adding some confounding factors, related to the new environment, and limitations, regarding the number of experimental sessions and the final sample size. Recently, low-cost portable EEG equipments are being released. These EEG systems usually comprise a smaller array of electrodes, transfer the data via wireless -at also smaller sample rates-, and require little adjustment and time-montage. Thus, they are ideal for the use outside the laboratory, for instance at school. In this regard, efforts aimed to transfer laboratory methodologies to different developmental contexts would pave the way for extending their inclusion in studies with greater ecological value.We recorded EEGs with the research high-quality (Biosemi) and low-cost EEG (Emotiv) systems while participants performed different active (Go/NoGo and Attentional Blink) and passive (cartoon video) tasks. Amplitude and latency analysis were performed on early ERPs (P1, N1, P2, N2 and P3) in the active tasks, whilst frequency spectrum and temporal correlations of the baseline EEG activity were examined in the passive task.Emotiv and Biosemi systems showed similar waveforms in terms of morphology and amplitude and comparable effects on these traditional cognitive paradigms. However, they had certain differences in the latencies, consistent across different potentials and effects. Fourier Analysis showed that the contribution of each frequency to the entire EEG was not significantly different across both equipments. In addition, amplitude fluctuations of oscillations showed long-range temporal correlations.The results of this study suggest that Emotiv may prove a valid alternative to high-quality EEG systems for measuring ERPs outside laboratory settings.