Fun With EEG!

Contrary to the title, I did not particularly enjoy my experience participating in an EEG study. There is a common misconception that the world of EEG is glamorous but alas, behind the scenes one can see the discomfort and boredom that is the sad truth. The study I participated in was for the Woldorff Lab dealing with neuroeconomics. The whole study took about 2.5 hours, about half of which was spent prepping the EEG cap and making sure that the skin on my scalp was clear enough so the electrodes would be able to receive information properly. This was accomplished through "twizzling", where the two research assistants who ran the study used thin wooden sticks, set one end against my scalp, and twisted it back and forth between their fingers until the area was clear enough. This was the most uncomfortable part of the study; it felt like they were trying to bore through my skull.  It was also unfortunately the longest part of the experience because of the number of electrodes on my head. After finally getting the cap properly prepped, they sat me down in a soundproof, dark room (that had the perfect sleep-inducing ambience) in front of a computer where I was given a task to choose between two situations that would give me a better monetary payoff. For each of the tasks, there were two bars divided in different proportions into red and green. The area of the red or green block represented the amount of money involved, and the number inside represented the probability of winning (green) or losing (red) that amount. I had to guess which of the two bars would give me the highest payoff by pressing "F" on a keyboard for the top bar and "J" for the bottom. I had either 3 or .4 seconds to make a decision. Interestingly enough I think I performed better on the .4 second trials because I was forced to perk up and really pay attention to the bars. I got very sleepy sitting there in a dark, warm room for an hour doing a monotonous task, so I think I could've performed better. Overall, I do have to admit it was interesting in that I had never participated in an EEG study before and it was cool to see my brain waves on a screen. It was much too uncomfortable, long, and boring for me to consider doing it again, however. I plan to participate in an fMRI study in late October, which is apparently also uncomfortable, but I look forward to the experience!