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I want to get started with getting signals from EEG and learning on how I can read data. I have some programming skills, so designing a database and manipulating data with ruby (python seems also cool, but never worked with) wouldn't be a problem, but I don't know where to start.

I'm interested in Neuromarketing because I'm working in advertising, but health is in my heart.

So can anyone please send me some books on what data I can get from EEG (theory) and what hardware should be good to use? Also books on how I can easily develop and calculate the data (emotiv sounds nice but not much electrodes and may not be working well, however for that money maybe good to begin with).

So something like getting started with EEG... Like with programming my first "Hello world" :)

UPDATE: Bought EPOC EEG Research edition :) And there I can even choose, I think I will go with ruby then :) But still need some very basic book on how to get long with all that data, I had suggestion on Introduction to Event Related Potential Technique and is there some easier to learn video tutorial or book... real basics :)

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  • $\begingroup$ By PyTom you mean this, right? biochem.mpg.de/en/rg/foerster/Content_Software/PyTom/index.html Was going to edit in a link for clarity but I'm not familiar with it so I'm not sure if that's what you mean $\endgroup$
    – Ben Brocka
    May 16, 2013 at 18:12
  • $\begingroup$ @BenBrocka: I would rather think that the OP refers to Python. $\endgroup$
    – H.Muster
    May 16, 2013 at 18:45
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    $\begingroup$ Epoc, Neurosky and similar consumer-grade "toys" provide some insight that there is activity going on, but are not sensitive enough to really take a look at what's going on in the brain. Many of these devices are based on the same microchip too. $\endgroup$
    – Alex Stone
    May 24, 2013 at 17:54
  • $\begingroup$ Related: cogsci.stackexchange.com/questions/13486/… $\endgroup$
    – Robin Kramer-ten Have
    Jul 22, 2016 at 9:42

4 Answers 4

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Steven J. Luck's "An Introduction to the Event-Related Potential Technique" is a great beginner's book on EEG. It's basic but not too simple, and it goes into the structure of the signals as well as into issues on experimental design.

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  • $\begingroup$ Yes, that is definitely a good book to start with. (+1) $\endgroup$
    – H.Muster
    May 15, 2013 at 17:00
  • $\begingroup$ Ok I got the book reading, but it is dry to do it without practice and seeing.... does anyone know something where I can to the practical with that book... I love lynda.com it is like showing you how is done... $\endgroup$
    – Dakadaka
    May 16, 2013 at 11:53
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Do you mean evoked potentials, or event-related potentials, or just straight-up EEG? The general way to distinguish between the two is that EEG will tell you about state (aroused, asleep, etc) where evoked or event-related potentials will tell you about operations (processing sound/language/etc); evoked or event-related potentials also generally require more, and more discrete, trials than EEG.

I'd recommend running some simple experiments yourself (on whoever is hanging about) and then analysing them. Do an auditory oddball experiment (Wikipedia's article is a pretty good intro) and analyse it; do a block experiment with basic state changes and analyse it.

I wouldn't start out trying to learn EEG AND program your own analysis suite at the same time; there are packages for EEG/ERP analysis in R (a free, open-source analysis language/platform) that will get you started much faster. But in general, people learn this stuff in labs, and learn it by helping on more experienced people's projects, so there's very little formal introductory material.

Good luck!

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I will second the above comment that equipment like EPOC is unlikely to be of much use. EEG research generally requires relatively large numbers of trials per subject even when conducted under the best of circumstances (low impedance electrodes, a shielded chamber, etc.).

As for data analysis, the gold standard for open-source EEG analysis is EEGLAB, which is written in MATLAB. If you don't have access to MATLAB, I believe that Windows binaries are available.

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If you are considering an alternative to matlab that is free I would recommend octave. If you are on linux you might consider the whole neurodebian. In terms of book I did not find Steve Luck's book very helpful, but Todd Handy's one was more suited for me. Also a very good book is van Drongelen's Signal Processing for Neuroscientists (cannot put the link sorry, not enough reputation), which includes matlab code with it. It is however tailored to a more technical audience. In terms of video I liked these youtube video. They are on brain computer interfaces, but the introduction also explains a bit about EEG. It is also a bit for the technically oriented.

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