Neuroscience from the comfort of your home: Repeated, self-administered wireless dry EEG measures brain function with high fidelity

Abstract

Recent advances have enabled the creation of wireless, “dry” electroencephalography (EEG) recording systems, and easy-to-use engaging tasks, that can be operated repeatedly by naïve users, unsupervised in the home. Here, we evaluated the validity of dry-EEG, cognitive task gamification, and unsupervised home-based recordings used in combination. Two separate cohorts of participants—older and younger adults—collected data at home over several weeks using a wireless dry EEG system interfaced with a tablet for task presentation. Older adults (n = 50; 25 females; mean age = 67.8 years) collected data over a 6-week period. Younger male adults (n = 30; mean age = 25.6 years) collected data over a 4-week period. All participants were asked to complete gamified versions of a visual Oddball task and Flanker task 5–7 days per week. Usability of the EEG system was evaluated via participant adherence, percentage of sessions successfully completed, and quantitative feedback using the System Usability Scale. In total, 1,449 EEG sessions from older adults (mean = 28.9; SD = 6.64) and 684 sessions from younger adults (mean = 22.87; SD = 1.92) were collected. Older adults successfully completed 93% of sessions requested and reported a mean usability score of 84.5. Younger adults successfully completed 96% of sessions and reported a mean usability score of 88.3. Characteristic event-related potential (ERP) components—the P300 and error-related negativity—were observed in the Oddball and Flanker tasks, respectively. Using a conservative threshold for inclusion of artifact-free data, 50% of trials were rejected per at-home session. Aggregation of ERPs across sessions (2–4, depending on task) resulted in grand average signal quality with similar Standard Measurement Error values to those of single-session wet EEG data collected by experts in a laboratory setting from a young adult sample. Our results indicate that easy-to-use task-driven EEG can enable large-scale investigations in cognitive neuroscience. In future, this approach may be useful in clinical applications such as screening and tracking of treatment response.

Developments in scalable strategies for detecting early markers of cognitive decline

“…Lower Right Panel: Figure adapted with permission from ref. [153] showing averaged eventrelated potentials from target trials extracted from a gamified Oddball task, collected remotely by participants themselves.…”

“…In order to ensure standardized electrode placement on the scalp, rigid headsets are preferred for non-expert use [149]. Portable, dry EEG devices can yield data that are similar in quality to those obtained by wet laboratory-based EEG systems [150][151][152][153] with comparable ERP amplitudes and latencies between wet and dry EEG [154], significant positive correlations (r = 0.54-0.89) between wet and dry EEG recordings for both spectral components and ERPs [155], and intra-class correlations between 0.76-0.85 across three separate testing time points using dry EEG [156]. Figure 3 shows an example of a portable EEG system and associated remotely collected data.…”

“…showing weekly adherence of a cohort of 50 healthy older adults (+55 years old) with a 6-week at-home EEG recording protocol. Lower Right Panel: Figure adapted with permission from ref [153]. showing averaged eventrelated potentials from target trials extracted from a gamified Oddball task, collected remotely by participants themselves.…”

High-order brain interactions in ketamine during rest and task: A double-blinded cross-over design using portable EEG

“…1B-C). The EEG used here has been presented previously on reference 40 , where a detailed description can be found. Figure 1.…”

Incorporating Evidence-Based Gamification and Machine Learning to Assess Preschool Executive Function: A Feasibility Study

“…Prior research shows promising results on the validity and engagement from the incorporation of gamification into EF assessments with neurodiverse populations, older children, and adults. For example, gamification of the Flanker Task-with the addition of reward incentives and an adaptive algorithm so the response duration shortens with correct responses and lengthens with incorrect responses-has been validated with young adults and elderly populations [50]. However, the feasibility of gamified computerized EF assessments with preschool children is understudied.…”