Abstract
We report on a biological artifact that is unknown in the EEG-literature, presumably due to its invisibility in the unfiltered raw EEG. On account of its probable electrogenesis, we discuss Arterial Pulse Impedance Artifact (APIA). One may also call it a virtual artifact because it only becomes manifest as the averaged mean value of power spectra from consecutive 2s epochs across a total length of 5 min (150 epochs). APIA has a cardiac origin, mediated by the superficial head arteries. The arterial pulse induces rhythmic changes in the electrical impedance between the cortical generator inside the skull and the recording electrode that is outside. APIA will only show up in the EEG if an electrode is fixed very close to the artery. APIA vanishes upon minimal shifting of the corresponding electrode. Detectability in the FFT-spectrogram is due to an amplification effect. The only possibility to avoid this artifact consists in excluding the APIA-prone spectral components below 2.0Hz from any further quantification procedure. The importance of this artifact consists in its possible interference with test-retest reliability, for EEG practice and research.
Highlights
We report on a biological artifact that is unknown in the EEG-literature, presumably due to its invisibility in the unfiltered raw EEG
Implications of the hypothesis: The only possibility to avoid this artifact consists in excluding the Arterial Pulse Impedance Artifact (APIA)-prone spectral components below 2.0Hz from any further quantification procedure
We spoke of APIA (Arterial Pulse Impedance Artifact) in order to emphasize its bioelectrical source [2]
Summary
We report on a biological artifact that is unknown in the EEG-literature, presumably due to its invisibility in the unfiltered raw EEG. Testing the hypothesis: APIA will only show up in the EEG if an electrode is fixed very close to the artery.
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