Method for detection of changes in the EEG induced by the presence of sensory stimuli

• Published in: Journal of neuroscience methods Vol. 173; no. 1; pp. 41 - 46
• Main Authors: Carrubba, Simona, Frilot, Clifton, Chesson, Andrew L., Marino, Andrew A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 15.08.2008
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Algorithms; Brain - physiology; Electroencephalogram; Electroencephalography - methods; Evoked potentials; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Models, Neurological; Nonlinear Dynamics; Nonlinear signal processing; Physical Stimulation - methods; Psychophysics; Recurrence quantification analysis; Sensation - physiology; Signal detection; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted; Recurrence quantification analysis; Electroencephalogram; Evoked potentials; Nonlinear signal processing; Signal detection
• ISSN: 0165-0270; 1872-678X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2008.05.008

The onset and offset of sensory stimuli evoke transient changes in the electroencephalogram (EEG) that can be detected by linear and/or nonlinear analysis. However, there is presently no systematic procedure to quantify the brain-electrical-activity correlate of the presence of a stimulus (as opposed to its onset evoked potential). We describe a method for detecting a stimulus-related change in brain electrical activity that persists while the stimulus is present (presence effect). The method, which is based on phase-space embedding of the EEG time series followed by quantitative analysis of the recurrence plot of the embedded signal, was used to demonstrate the occurrence of a presence effect in separate groups of human subjects exposed to sound, a magnetic field, and light. Any form of law-governed dynamical activity induced in the EEG can be detected, particularly activity that is nonlinearly related to the stimulus. Salient mathematical features of the method were reproduced in a model EEG system containing known nonlinear determinism.