S11-3. Three points to remember when you conduct research using event-related potentials

Abstract

Event-related potentials (ERP) are a part of the electroencephalogram (EEG) that is time-locked to a certain event, such as stimulus presentation or movement onset. As recent advances in electronics bring inexpensive and easy-to-use EEG amplifiers to the market, more and more people are interested in also recording ERPs. However, easy-to-use does not mean easy-to-succeed. In this talk, I will make three practical recommendations for conducting ERP research. First, make sure that the timings of events are precisely registered with the EEG data. Recent commercial EEG devices may not be as precise as traditional ones. Ask the distributor about how the device synchronizes the two information sources, and if possible, check the system yourself in terms of delays and the temporal stability of event markers. Second, try to make the whole research process as open and transparent as possible. Because brain electrical activities are multidimensional, and an infinite variety of analysis techniques are available, it is preferable to decide how to analyze the data in advance. Third, prepare to share your data with other researchers, as the “Open Science” movement is gaining popularity in this field. Institutional ethics approval and participant informed consent should be obtained to proceed in this direction.