Biology subjects

Hoelle, D.

Publications and source records attributed to Hoelle, D..

3 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2023

Smartphone-based ear-EEG to study sound processing in everyday life

In everyday life, people differ in their sound perception and thus sound processing. Some people may be distracted by construction noise while others do not even notice. With smartphone-based mobile earelectroencephalography we can measure and quantify sound processing in everyday life by analyzing presented sounds and also naturally occurring ones. Twenty-four participants completed four controlled conditions in the lab (1h) and one condition in the office (3h). All conditions used the same paired-click stimuli. In the lab, participants listened to click tones under four different instructions: no task towards the sounds, reading a newspaper article, listening to an audio article, or counting a rare deviant sound. In the office recording, participants followed daily activities while they were sporadically presented with clicks, without any further instruction. In addition to the presented sounds, environmental sounds were recorded as acoustic features (i.e., loudness, power spectral density, sounds onsets). We found task-dependent differences in the auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) to the presented click sounds in all lab conditions, which underline that neural processes related to auditory attention can be differentiated with ear-EEG. In the office condition, we found ERPs comparable to some of the lab conditions. The N1 amplitude to the click sounds beyond the lab was dependent on the background noise, probably due to energetic masking. Contrary to our expectation, we did not find a clear ERP in response to the environmental sounds. Overall, we showed that smartphone-based ear-EEG can be used to study sound processing of well defined-stimuli in everyday life.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2022

Recording brain activity with ear-EEG (cEEGrids)

The cEEGrid (ear-electroencephalography; ear-EEG) is an unobtrusive and comfortable electrode array affixed around the ear. It is suited to investigate brain activity outside of the laboratory for long durations. Previous research established that cEEGrids can be used to study various cognitive processes in and also beyond the lab, even for a whole day. To record high-quality ear-EEG data, careful preparation is necessary. In this protocol, we explain the steps needed for successful experimenting with cEEGrids: First, we show how to test the functionality of the cEEGrid prior to a recording. Second, we describe how to prepare the participant and to fit the cEEGrid, which is the most important step to record high-quality data. Third, we outline how to connect the cEEGrids to the amplifier and how to check the signal quality. In this protocol, we give best practice recommendations and tips that make cEEGrid recordings easier. If researchers follow this protocol, they are comprehensively equipped for experimenting with the cEEGrid in and beyond the lab. SUMMARYThe cEEGrid (ear-electroencephalography) allows to record brain activity in and beyond the lab for extended duration. In this protocol, we describe how to set up and record with cEEGrids.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Mobile ear-EEG to study auditory attention in everyday life

Most research investigating auditory perception is conducted in controlled laboratory settings, potentially restricting its generalizability to the complex acoustic environment outside the lab. The present study, in contrast, investigated auditory attention with long-term recordings (>6 h) beyond the lab using a fully mobile, smartphone-based ear-centered electroencephalography (EEG) setup with minimal restrictions for participants. Twelve participants completed iterations of two variants of an oddball task where they had to react to target tones and to ignore standard tones. A rapid variant of the task (tones every 2 seconds, 5 minutes total time) was performed seated and with full focus in the morning, around noon and in the afternoon under controlled conditions. A sporadic variant (tones every minute, 160 minutes total time) was performed once in the morning and once in the afternoon while participants followed their normal office day routine. EEG data, behavioural data, and movement data (with a gyroscope) were recorded and analyzed. The expected increased amplitude of the P3 component in response to the target tone was observed for both the rapid and the sporadic oddball. Miss rates were lower and reaction times were faster in the rapid oddball compared to the sporadic one. The movement data indicated that participants spent most of their office day at relative rest. Overall, this study demonstrated that it is feasible to study auditory perception in everyday life with long-term ear-EEG.

neuroscience↗