Recommendations and publication guidelines for studies using frequency domain and time‐frequency domain analyses of neural time series

Abstract

Since its beginnings in the early 20th century, the psychophysiological study of human brain function has included research into the spectral properties of electrical and magnetic brain signals. Now, dramatic advances in digital signal processing, biophysics, and computer science have enabled increasingly sophisticated methodology for neural time series analysis. Innovations in hardware and recording techniques have further expanded the range of tools available to researchers interested in measuring, quantifying, modeling, and altering the spectral properties of neural time series. These tools are increasingly used in the field, by a growing number of researchers who vary in their training, background, and research interests. Implementation and reporting standards also vary greatly in the published literature, causing challenges for authors, readers, reviewers, and editors alike. The present report addresses this issue by providing recommendations for the use of these methods, with a focus on foundational aspects of frequency domain and time‐frequency analyses. It also provides publication guidelines, which aim to (1) foster replication and scientific rigor, (2) assist new researchers who wish to enter the field of brain oscillations, and (3) facilitate communication among authors, reviewers, and editors.

Midfrontal theta power encodes the value of haptic delay

“…We chose the time period that is − 900 to − 200 ms before the button release event as a baseline period for dB normalization for the following reasons: (1) away from the onset to avoid the temporal smoothing inherent in wavelet transform 41 ; (2) long enough to accommodate a few cycles of the lowest frequency under consideration (i.e. : 3 Hz) 42 ; (3) far from the edges of the epoch (epoch length is − 2 to 2.7 s around the onset) 42 . (4) Contained between the minimum grab and release duration (1000 ms).…”

Introduction to the special issue of human oscillatory brain activity: Methods, models, and mechanisms

“…Providing a methodological and practical framework for the special issue, the lead article by Keil et al (2022) introduces a set of guidelines and recommendations for studies using frequency domain and time–frequency domain analyses of neural time series. These guidelines aim to foster rigor and reproducibility of published work in the field, facilitate communication among scientists in their roles as authors, reviewers, or editors, and introduce younger researchers to relevant topics and potential methodological pitfalls.…”

Short-term monocular deprivation boosts neural responsiveness to audio-visual events for the undeprived eye

“…Both visual and audio-visual MD effects were selectively found in induced neural oscillations, likely reflecting main alterations in feedback processing integrating sensory input and ongoing cortical activity (Galambos 1992; Klimesch et al, 1998; Tallon-Baudry and Bertrand, 1999; Chen et al, 2012; Keil et al, 2022). Instead, the evoked phase-locked activity (feedforward), related to the processing within the thalamo-cortical pathway (Galambos 1992; Keil et al, 2022), was not affected.…”