Welcome to the CBU EEG lab
The CBU EEG lab hosts a variety of research projects in the areas of perception, language and cognition. We employ a 128-channel, active electrode BrainAmp (Brain Products) EEG setup and all recordings are performed in an acoustically and electrically shielded chamber. The lab is equipped with a Polhemus Digitisation System, as well as with E-Prime and Cogent stimulation systems. For data processing, we have available the software packages SPM, Curry, MNE, BESA, ASA, Scan, Brain Vision Analyzer, etc (see here). We also develop our own analysis tools in Matlab.
In addition to measuring ERPs, we perform MEG (magnetoencephalography) in our CBU MEG Laboratory. We also conduct fMRI experiments using the CBU Siemens Tim Trio 3T system and Wolfson Brain Imaging Centre in Cambridge.
Mission
We use methods with high temporal resolution such as magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) to reveal the precise time-course of cognitive processes such as language, auditory/visual perception and decision making. In the case of language comprehension, for example, time course information is crucial, because language comprehension is a dynamic process that involves the integration of various types of information (phonological, syntactic, semantic etc) over a very short time interval. One of our primary goals is to integrate the precise temporal information provided by EEG and MEG with data obtained from functional Magnetic Resonance Tomography (fMRI).
For general requests concerning the EEG lab, contact clare.cook@mrc-cbu.cam.ac.uk .
Research areas
Neurophysiological activity reflecting word-category-specific processes
Psycholinguistic variables in visual word recognition; see also Linear Regression Page
The Mismatch Negativity (MMN) as a tool for investigating language in the brain
Subliminal face processing as revealed by masked priming (PDF)
People
Lucy MacGregor, Post-doctoral Scientist, Hearing, Speech and Language Group
Olaf Hauk, Senior Investigator Scientist, Methods Group
Duncan Astle, Programme Leader
Rik Henson, Senior Scientist, Memory Group
Bob Carlyon, Senior Scientist, Hearing, Speech and Language Group
Clare Cook, Research Assistant
Publications
For publications of a particular research or project please follow the links above.
Examples of EEG publications that contain contributions from the CBU EEG community (the list is not exhaustive):
Hauk, O., Coutout, C., Holden, A., & Chen, Y. (2012). The time-course of single-word reading: Evidence from fast behavioral and brain responses. Neuroimage, 60(2):1462-77.
Shtyrov Y. Fast mapping of novel word forms traced neurophysiologically. Frontiers in Psychology 2:340. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00340, 2011.
Shtyrov Y. Neural bases of rapid word learning. The Neuroscientist, doi: 10.1177/1073858411420299 [e-pub ahead of print], 2011.
Pulvermüller F., Kiff J., Shtyrov Y. Can language-action links explain language laterality? An ERP study of perceptual and articulatory learning of novel pseudowords. Cortex, doi:10.1016/j.cortex.2011.02.006 [e-pub ahead of print], 2011.
Alexandrov A., Boricheva D., Pulvermüller F., Shtyrov Y. Strength of word-specific neural memory traces assessed electrophysiologically. PLOS One. 6(8): e22999. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0022999, 2011.
Shtyrov Y, Kimppa L., Pulvermüller F., Kujala T. Event-related potentials reflecting the frequency of unattended spoken words: A neuronal index of connection strength in lexical memory circuits? Neuroimage, 55:658-668, 2011.
Shtyrov Y, Nikulin V., Pulvermüller F. Neurophysiological correlates of rapid word learning in the brain. Journal of Neuroscience, 30(50):16864-7, 2010.
Shtyrov Y. Automaticity and attentional control in spoken language processing: neurophysiological evidence. Mental Lexicon, 5(2):255-276, 2010.
Shtyrov Y., Pulvermüller F., Kujala, T. Interaction between language and attention systems: early automatic lexical processing? Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 22(7):1465-78, 2010
Vestergaard MD, Háden GP, Shtyrov Y, Patterson RD, Pulvermüller F, Denham SL, Sziller I, Winkler I. Auditory size-deviant detection in adults and newborn infants. Biological Psychology, 82(2):169-75, 2009.
Bediou, B., Eimer, M., d'Amato, T., Hauk, O., Calder, A.J. (2009). In the eye of the beholder: Individual differences in reward-drive modulate early frontocentral ERPs to angry faces. Neuropsychologia, 47(3), 825-834.
Boudelaa, S., Pulvermüller, F., Hauk, O., Shtyrov, Y., Marslen-Wilson, W.D. (2009). Arabic morphology in the neural language system: A mismatch negativity study. J Cogn Neurosci, 22(5), 998-1010.
Carlyon, R.P., Deeks, J., Shtyrov, Y., Grahn, J., Gockel, H., Hauk, O., & Pulvermüller, F. (2009). Changes in the perceived duration of a narrowband sound induced by a preceding stimulus. JEP:HPP, 35(6), 1898-1912.
Hauk, O., Pulvermüller, F., Ford, M., Marslen-Wilson, W. D., & Davis, M. H. (2008). Can I have a quick word? Early electrophysiological manifestations of psycholinguistic processes revealed by event-related regression analysis of the EEG. Biol Psychol.
Hauk, O., Patterson, K., Woollams, A., Cooper-Pye, E., Pulvermuller, F., & Rogers, T. T. (2007). How the camel lost its hump: the impact of object typicality on event-related potential signals in object decision. J Cogn Neurosci, 19(8), 1338-1353.
Hauk, O., Davis, M. H., Ford, M., Pulvermüller, F., & Marslen-Wilson, W. D. (2006). The time course of visual word recognition as revealed by linear regression analysis of ERP data. Neuroimage, 30(4), 1383-1400.
Hauk, O., Patterson, K., Woollams, A., Watling, L., Pulvermüller, F., & Rogers, T. T. (2006). [Q:] When would you prefer a SOSSAGE to a SAUSAGE? [A:] At about 100 msec. ERP correlates of orthographic typicality and lexicality in written word recognition. J Cogn Neurosci, 18(5), 818-832.
Hauk, O., Shtyrov, Y., & Pulvermüller, F. (2006). The sound of actions as reflected by mismatch negativity: rapid activation of cortical sensory-motor networks by sounds associated with finger and tongue movements. Eur J Neurosci, 23(3), 811-821.
Hauk, O., & Pulvermüller, F. (2004a). Effects of word length and frequency on the human event-related potential. Clinical Neurophysiology, 115(5), 1090-1103.
Hauk, O., & Pulvermüller, F. (2004b). Neurophysiological distinction of action words in the fronto-central cortex. Human Brain Mapping, 21(3), 191-201.
Henson, R. N., Mouchlianitis, E., Matthews, W. J., & Kouider, S. (2008). Electrophysiological correlates of masked face priming. Neuroimage, 40(2), 884-895.
Micheyl, C., Carlyon, R. P., Shtyrov, Y., Hauk, O., Dodson, T., & Pullvermuller, F. (2003). The neurophysiological basis of the auditory continuity illusion: a mismatch negativity study. J Cogn Neurosci, 15(5), 747-758.
Mohr, B., Endrass, T., Hauk, O., & Pulvermuller, F. (2007). ERP correlates of the bilateral redundancy gain for words. Neuropsychologia, 45(9), 2114-2124.
Moscoso del Prado Martin, F., Hauk, O., & Pulvermuller, F. (2006). Category specificity in the processing of color-related and form-related words: an ERP study. Neuroimage, 29(1), 29-37.
Penolazzi, B., Hauk, O., & Pulvermüller, F. (2007). Early semantic context integration and lexical access as revealed by event-related brain potentials. Biol Psychol, 74(3), 374-388.
Pulvermuller, F., Shtyrov, Y., Hasting, A. S., & Carlyon, R. P. (2008). Syntax as a reflex: neurophysiological evidence for early automaticity of grammatical processing. Brain Lang, 104(3), 244-253.
Pulvermuller, F., Hauk, O., Zohsel, K., Neininger, B., & Mohr, B. (2005). Therapy-related reorganization of language in both hemispheres of patients with chronic aphasia. Neuroimage, 28(2), 481-489.
Pulvermuller, F., Shtyrov, Y., Kujala, T., & Naatanen, R. (2004). Word-specific cortical activity as revealed by the mismatch negativity. Psychophysiology, 41(1), 106-112.
Pulvermüller, F., & Shtyrov, Y. (2003). Automatic processing of grammar in the human brain as revealed by the mismatch negativity. Neuroimage, 20(1), 159-172.
Shtyrov, Y., Hauk, O., & Pulvermüller, F. (2004). Distributed neuronal networks for encoding category-specific semantic information: the mismatch negativity to action words. Eur J Neurosci, 19(4), 1083-1092.
Shtyrov, Y., & Pulvermuller, F. (2002). Memory traces for inflectional affixes as shown by mismatch negativity. Eur J Neurosci, 15(6), 1085-1091.
Shtyrov, Y., & Pulvermüller, F. (2002). Neurophysiological evidence of memory traces for words in the human brain. Neuroreport, 13(4), 521-525.
Software and Help
If you are new to EEG and MEG analysis, you may want to read to read our Introduction to EEG/MEG data processing.