How Does the Toolbox Choice Affect ERP Analysis?

Abstract

Event-related potentials (ERP) help understanding neural activity related to both sensory and cognitive processes. But due to their low SNR, EEG signals must be processed to obtain the ERP waveform. Such a processing can be carried using a number of toolboxes that may provide different results on further analyses. Here, we present an experimental design that quantitatively evaluates the effect of choosing a particular toolbox in the further ERP analysis. We select three widely used toolboxes: EEGLAB, SPM12, and Fieldtrip to process EEG data acquired from a Flanker-like task with a Biosemi Active-Two device. Results show that although there is not a significant difference between ERP obtained from each toolbox, the choice of a specific toolbox may have subtle effects in the resulting ERP waveforms.