Committee report: Publication guidelines and recommendations for
studies using electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography
ANDREAS KEIL,
a
STEFAN DEBENER,
b
GABRIELE GRATTON,
c
MARKUS JUNGHÖFER,
d
EMILY S. KAPPENMAN,
e
STEVEN J. LUCK,
e
PHAN LUU,
f
GREGORY A. MILLER,
g
and CINDY M. YEE
h
a
Department of Psychology and Center for the Study of Emotion and Attention, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA
b
Department of Psychology, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
c
Department of Psychology and Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
d
Institute for Biomagnetism and Biosignalanalysis, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
e
Center for Mind & Brain and Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, California, USA
f
Electrical Geodesics, Inc. and Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, USA
g
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA and
Department of Psychology and Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA
h
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences and Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, California, USA
Abstract
Electromagnetic data collected using electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) are of central
importance for psychophysiological research. The scope of concepts, methods, and instruments used by EEG/MEG
researchers has dramatically increased and is expected to further increase in the future. Building on existing guideline
publications, the goal of the present paper is to contribute to the effective documentation and communication of such
advances by providing updated guidelines for conducting and reporting EEG/MEG studies. The guidelines also include
a checklist of key information recommended for inclusion in research reports on EEG/MEG measures.
Descriptors: Electrophysiology, Methods, Recording techniques, Data analysis, Good practices
Electrophysiological measures derived from the scalp-recorded
electroencephalogram (EEG) have provided a window into the
function of the living human brain for more than 80 years. More
recently, technical advancements allow magnetic fields associated
with brain function to be measured as well, resulting in a growing
research community using magnetoencephalography (MEG).
Although hemodynamic imaging and transcranial magnetic stimu-
lation have expanded the understanding of psychophysiological
processes considerably, electromagnetic measures have not lost
their importance, largely due to their unparalleled temporal reso-
lution. In fact, recent technological developments have fundamen-
tally widened the scope of methodologies available to researchers
interested in electromagnetic brain signals. At the time of writing,
the increased use of MEG as well as the development of powerful
new hardware and software tools have led to a dramatic growth in
the range of research questions addressed. With the growing reali-
zation that diverse electrical, magnetic, optical, and hemodynamic
psychophysiological methods are complementary rather than com-
petitive, attempts at multimodal neuroimaging integration are
growing. In addition, a wide spectrum of data recording, artifact
control, and signal processing approaches are currently used, some
of which are intimately known only to a small number of research-
ers. With these richer opportunities comes a growth in demands for
technical expertise. For example, there is much greater use of and
need for advanced statistical and other signal-processing methods,
both adapted from other fields and developed anew. At the same
time, the availability of “turn-key” recording systems used by a
wide variety of scholars has been accompanied by a trend of report-
ing less detail about recording and data analysis parameters. Both
developments are at odds with the need to communicate experi-
mental procedures, materials, and analytic tools in a way that
allows readers to evaluate and replicate the research described in a
published manuscript.
The goal of the present paper is to update and expand existing
publication guidelines for reporting on studies using measures
derived from EEG. If not otherwise specified, these guidelines also
apply to MEG measures. This report is the result of the collabora-
tive effort of a committee appointed by the Society for
Psychophysiological Research, whose members are listed as the
authors of this manuscript. Previous guideline publications and
committee reports have laid an excellent foundation for research
and publication standards in our field (Donchin et al., 1977; Picton
et al., 2000; Pivik et al., 1993). A recent paper by Gross et al.
(2013) provided specific recommendations and reporting guide-
lines for the recording and analysis of MEG data. The reader is
referred to these publications in addition to the present report. To
The authors would like to thank the many members of the Society for
Psychophysiological Research who have contributed to the discussion of
these guidelines.
Address correspondence to: Andreas Keil, PhD, Department of Psy-
chology and Center for the Study of Emotion & Attention, University of
Florida, PO Box 112766, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA. E-mail: akeil@
ufl.edu
Psychophysiology, •• (2013), ••–••. Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Printed in the USA.
Copyright © 2013 Society for Psychophysiological Research
DOI: 10.1111/psyp.12147
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