Methods to eliminate stimulus transduction artifact from insert earphones during electroencephalography
Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 31, 2026
Reliable Acquisition of Electroencephalography Data during Simultaneous Electroencephalography and Functional MRI
Published on: March 19, 2021
Tom Campbell1, Jess R Kerlin, Christopher W Bishop
1Center for Mind and Brain, University of California, Davis, CA 95618, USA. tom.campbell@ndsu.edu
Objective:
To reduce stimulus transduction artifacts in EEG while using insert earphones.
Design:
Reference Equivalent Threshold SPLs were assessed for Etymotic ER-4B earphones in 15 volunteers. Auditory brainstem responses (ABRs) and middle latency responses (MLRs)-as well as long-duration complex ABRs-to click and /dα/ speech stimuli were recorded in a single-case design.
Results:
Transduction artifacts occurred in raw EEG responses, but they were eliminated by shielding, counter-phasing (averaging across stimuli 180° out of phase), or rereferencing.
Conclusions:
Clinical grade ABRs, MLRs, and cABRs can be recorded with a standard digital EEG system and high-fidelity insert earphones, provided one or more techniques are used to remove the stimulus transduction artifact.
