Measurement of saccadic eye movements by electrooculography for simultaneous EEG recording

Eye movements are an important index of the neural functions of visual information processing, decision making, visuomotor coordination, sports performance, and so forth. However, the available optical tracking methods are impractical in many situations, such as the wearing of eyeglasses or the presence of ophthalmic disorders, and this can be overcome by accurate recording of eye movements by electrooculography (EOG). In this study we recorded eye movements by EOG simultaneously with high-density electroencephalogram (EEG) recording using a 128-channel EGI electrode net at a 500-Hz sampling rate, including appropriate facial electrodes. The participants made eye movements over a calibration target consisting of a 5×5 grid of stimulus targets. The results showed that the EOG methodology allowed accurate analysis of the amplitude and direction of the fixation locations and saccadic dynamics with a temporal resolution of 500 Hz, under both cued and uncued analysis regimes. Blink responses could be identified separately and were shown to have a more complex source derivation than has previously been recognized. The results also showed that the EOG signals recorded through the EEG net can achieve results as accurate as typical optical eye-tracking devices, and also allow for simultaneous assessment of neural activity during all types of eye movements. Moreover, the EOG method effectively avoids the technical difficulties related to eye-tracker positioning and the synchronization between EEG and eye movements. We showed that simultaneous EOG/EEG recording is a convenient means of measuring eye movements, with an accuracy comparable to that of many specialized eye-tracking systems.