Electrophysiological correlates of hyperoxia during resting-state EEG in awake human subjects.

Recreational use of concentrated oxygen has increased. Claims have been made that hyperoxic breathing can help reduce fatigue, increase alertness, and improve attentional capacities; however, few systematic studies of these potential benefits exist. Here, we examined the effects of short-term (15 min) hyperoxia on resting states in awake human subjects by measuring spontaneous EEG activity between normoxic and hyperoxic situations, using a within-subject design for both eyes-opened and eyes-closed conditions.

Power and Phase of Alpha Oscillations Reveal an Interaction between Spatial and Temporal Visual Attention.

Oscillatory brain rhythms can bias attention via phase and amplitude changes, which modulate sensory activity, biasing information to be processed or ignored. Alpha band (7-14 Hz) oscillations lateralize with spatial attention and rhythmically inhibit visual activity and awareness through pulses of inhibition. Here we show that human observers' awareness of spatially unattended targets is dependent on both alpha power and alpha phase at target onset.

High and dry? Comparing active dry EEG electrodes to active and passive wet electrodes.

Dry electrodes are becoming popular for both lab-based and consumer-level electrophysiological-recording technologies because they better afford the ability to move traditional lab-based research into the real world. It is unclear, however, how dry electrodes compare in data quality to traditional electrodes. The current study compared three EEG electrode types: (a) passive-wet electrodes with no onboard amplification, (b) actively amplified, wet electrodes with moderate impedance levels, and low impedance levels, and (c) active-dry electrodes with very high impedance.