Prior to Participant Arrival

Swap out the amplifier battery with the fully charged battery on the charger

Confirm that headcaps and electrodes are clean and dry

Prepare supplies

Fill syringes with SignaGel

Double adhesive collars

Cable wraps

External electrodes

When the Participant Arrives

Have the participant read and sign consent form

Use the correct form depending on whether they want SONA/monetary compensation (and sign consent form as well)

Describe an overview of the procedure and experiments

Ask the participant to complete the STAI questionnaire (or a survey specific to a particular study)

Put the completed questionnaire in the “completed” folder file

Make sure the participant understands the length of time they will be in the experiment and ask if they’d like to use the restroom

No chewing gum, hair down evenly

Electronics should be left outside the recording chamber

Fill out Excel spreadsheet with participant information, SONA credit/payment information, etc.

Log arrival time in Excel spreadsheet

Participant Preparation

Determining proper head cap size: measure in cm

Measure head circumference just above the eyebrows and over the inion (the projecting occipital bone at the base of the skull)

54-58 cm: Medium Cap (RED)

56-60 cm: Medium/Large Cap (RED and BLUE)

58-62 cm: Large Cap (BLUE)

Apply external electrodes

Be sure the electrode collars are not covering the active part of the electrode

Reference

EX1 left mastoid

EX2 right mastoid

Horizontal electroculogram

EX3 next to left outer canthus

EX4 net to right outer canthus (if applicable)

See here for approximate location.

Vertical electroculogram

EX5 and below the left eye

EX6 (if applicable) above the the left eye

See here for approximate location.

Put on cap

If the participant requires glasses, have them wear them during cap fitting

Visually inspect the cap to ensure it is on straight

Determine proper vertex location (i.e., electrode Cz)

Anterior/posterior - Measure nasion to inion (divide by 2)

Left/right - measure from left to right preauricular area (divide by 2)

Double check that the cap is still straight now that you’ve made your adjustments

Ensure that the cap’s tag at the O1, Oz, O2 electrodes is pulled out

Steps for the EEG digitization process can be found at this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xlSQQWCuHG5U2ClRDxCXOOx1W2LTQKZpgBbWgTl5Lck/edit

Apply gel to cap electrode holders

Build columns of gel: fill from syringe, move hair around

If participant is bald or has very short hair, start with minimal gel to avoid pooling

Insert electrodes into cap (carefully not to stress electrode leads)

Wrap CMS/DRL three or four times around ribbon cables & EX leads (and secure with cable wrap at nape of neck and below the wraps)

Bring the participant into VERONICA

Electrode Testing

Attach the ribbon cables and EX leads to the amplifier (correctly align the connectors to their respective ports before applying pressure)

Attach the battery to the amplifier and turn on the power

Ensure the amplifier’s solid blue light is on indicating CM in range

Select the Electrode Offset tab in ActiView

Check all 64 channels and also EX 1-6

Electrodes should be should be ideally between +/- 20 mV, not bouncing up and down

If electrode is outside of range:

Try adding a bit more gel and parting hair with the syringe

Ensure the electrode is firmly in place

If many (all) of the electrodes are out of range, check CMS & DRL

Select the Monopolar Display tab in ActiView

Look for channels that are drifting or seem particularly noisy

Use same techniques above to correct bad channels

Return to Electrode Offset tab and ensure all electrodes are still in range

Show the participant their alpha waves, EMG, and eye-blinks.

Use this opportunity to emphasize why being relaxed, comfortable, and still is so important and why they should try to avoid blinking outside of the specified “blink times”

Turn ON and test intercom system

Turn ON by pressing talk button

Turn on Monitor Mode on the VERONICA intercom by pressing the Monitor button until you hear a tone

Place the LCD display such that the participant is ~70 cm away and that top of the display is roughly at the eye level of the participant.

Give the participants a few minutes to acclimate to the dim environment inside VERONICA before beginning the first task.

Do the same whenever you’re transitioning from between bright and dim tasks (e.g., from a paradigm that uses the anaglyph glasses to one that does not)

Running Experiments

On the display and acquisition computers:

Turn off the WiFi

Pause Dropbox

Close all unnecessary programs

Create an EEG file in ActiView

Press Start File

Press OK on popup window

Enter filename

At this point the file has been created, but it is NOT recording

Prepare to run the paradigm in PsychoPy

Be sure to enter the participant’s “p” number as it is saved in the EEG file

Recording EEG data - START

Most of our experiments will automatically trigger the ActiView system to being recording. When PsychoPy begins the experiment you should confirm in the ActiView window that the button above the Pause button has turned from red to green and displays SAVING

Note: If you are running an experiment that does not automatically trigger EEG recording (unlikely), you would press the Pause button to begin recording

Recording EEG data – STOP

Most of our experiments will automatically pause EEG data recording when the experiment is over. However, you still need to terminate the session (i.e., close the file)

Press the Stop button

Remember to check in on the participant via the intercom between experiments and to make sure they know what is expected of them for the next experiment

After Experimental Session Is Complete

Take picture of participant with the cap on (if they’d like one)

Remember to email this picture and a screenshot of their EEG to the participant

Carefully remove all of the EX electrodes

Carefully remove the cap

Give the participant paper towels and allow them to clean up

On the display and acquisition computers:

Turn on the WiFi

Unpause Dropbox

Debrief the participant

Tell them the goal of the studies that were run and give them the opportunity to ask any questions that they have

Log the completion time

Compensate the participant

If money, pay them and have them sign the Payment Verification form

If SONA, email Prof. Engell with the participant’s name, credit earned, and which class they would like it applied to

Email Prof. Engell if we are low on any forms or subject payment funds (< $80)

Mount the KPNL_Participant_Info.dmg virtual drive

Enter your handwritten run sheet and notes into the Excel file

Keep the run sheet in the lab folder

Save the Excel file

Unmount the KPNL_Participant_Info.dmg virtual drive

Turn OFF the intercoms

Press and hold the Volume Down button for 3 seconds

Turn off lights and fan in VERONICA

Cleaning Up

Carefully remove all of the electrodes from the cap

Take extreme care to not stress the electrode leads

Never bend the electrode lead where it meets the electrode

Electrodes should never come into contact with any metal surfaces (e.g., the sink!)

Ensure that the amplifiers are turned off and disconnected from the battery

Wash CMS/DRL and EX electrodes

Follow the same procedures as used for the cap electrodes (see below)

Wash cap electrodes

Swirl electrodes in a half bucket of cold water

After ~45 sec feel for slipperiness to indicate if gel has been washed off

Change the water intermittently and continue until electrodes no longer feel slippery

Hang ribbons from the rack and spread out the electrodes to dry on the “wee-wee pad”

Wash cap

Use the sprayer to wash the gel out of each of the electrode holders

The sprayer can make a mess, so keep the water pressure relatively low and wear the brain apron!

Wash in warm soapy (use a small amount of Ivory liquid soap) water in bucket

Wash so there is not gel in the fabric

Be careful to excessively stretch the fabric during cleaning

Once clean, rinse the cap in clean water

Place the clean cap on one of the plastic cap racks to dry

Do not pull the cap down over the rack or stretch it in any way

If another participant is scheduled for the same day it is important to speed up drying of the cap. To do so,

Remove as much water as possible by towel drying (do not stretch the cap)

Turn on and direct the fan at the drying rack