High-density ear-EEG

Ear-EEG enables recording of EEG in real-life environments in an unprecedented discreet and minimal obtrusive way. As ear-EEG are recorded from electrodes placed in or around the ear, the spatial coverage of the potential field on the scalp is inherently limited. Despite the limited spatial coverage, the potential field in-the-ear can still be measured in multiple points and thereby provide spatial information. We present a method to perform and visualize high-density ear-EEG recordings, and illustrate the method through recordings of auditory and visually evoked steady-state responses, for a single subject. The auditory and visually evoked responses showed distinctive differences in the response field in the ear, reflecting the very different locations of the underlying cortical sources. In conclusion, high-density ear-EEG can be used to investigate how different cortical sources maps to the ear, and provides a way to select optimal electrode positions for given brain phenomena.