On this website you can find information concerning EEG research carried out at the Faculty of Behavior, Management, and Social Sciences at the University of Twente, or research that is carried out in cooperation with this Faculty. You can also find several introduction videos to EEG research, information about different analyzing techniques, and recordings of monthly (online) lectures that focus on topics relevant for the field. You can also find information concerning research and methods related to functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).
Fig.1 Results of wavelet analyses showing the influence of directing attention while awaiting an electrical potentially painful stimulus on the left or right forearm. Results indicate changes from the moment when the to-be-attended hand is signaled by a central cue (t = 0 ms). The data indicate that there is a reduction of activity in the alpha band (~8-12 Hz) at electrodes overlaying the somatosensory cortices (CP3 & CP4) contralateral to the attended hand (CP4 for the left forearm, CP3 for the right forearm). The location of these electrodes is indicated in the middle. These data demonstrate the influence of a cognitive process like attention at a neurophysiological level. The data relate to a paper published in 2018 by Van der Lubbe and colleagues in the Open Access journal PLoSONE: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0201689
The EEG or electroencephalogram is a direct measure of ongoing neurophysiological activity (i.e., post-synaptic potentials) mainly generated by pyramidal cells localized in the cortical layers III, V, and VI. It provides a unique window on human cognition. For example, it can inform us about:
- perceptual processing of visual, auditory, and somatosensory stimuli
- motor preparation, motor execution, motor imagery
- where our attention is directed
- processing of stimuli that cannot be consciously reported
- retrieval of information from short-term memory
- consolidation processes in long-term memory
- language processing and semantics
- cognitive control
- error processing
- functional and structural connectivity
- the influence of attention on visual, auditory, and somatosensory stimuli
- problem solving
- decision making
- sleep
- stress (mental workload)
- vigilance (sustained attention)
- emotion
- etc.