Towards a More Open, Reproducible, and Representative Field of Developmental EEG Research

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

EEG holds tremendous potential for advancing research on child development. As a developmental neuroscience tool, EEG provides a relatively low-cost and non-invasive method of directly measuring brain activity, capturing real-time neural information. Accordingly, EEG is central to the discovery of numerous fundamental developmental phenomena. At an applied level, EEG continues to inform clinical assessment, interventions, and policy work. However, the efficacy of EEG as a research tool is highly dependent on the reproducibility and generalizability of the findings produced by this technique. Thus, in an effort to maximize the continued impact that EEG will have on child development research, this symposium brings together a series of talks that highlight the importance of striving for larger and more representative samples in developmental EEG research, the necessity of detailed reporting and unification of study methods to increase reliability and replicability, and the adoption of open-science practices more generally in the field. Across three talks, results from novel meta-analytic and meta-scientific studies will be presented, each presenting a “snapshot” of the current state of the field in terms of study sample sizes and demographic reporting, diversity of analytic pipelines in current use by researchers, and the effect of under-reported study parameters that impact conclusions that can be drawn. Each talk will also include a “call to action” regarding the importance of at least one relevant principle of open science (e.g., the importance of transparent reporting of methods, the value of shared resources, and the benefits of pre-registration).

Sub Unit

• Biological Processes: Psychophysiology

Chair

• George A Buzzell, Florida International University

Discussant

• Lisa M. Gatzke-Kopp, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Individual Presentations

• Diversity and Representation in Developmental EEG: Participant Recruitment and Documentation - Presenting Author: Santiago Morales, University of Southern California; Lauren Oh; Nidah Mohammed; Leona Abrahamian, University of Southern California; Jingqi Li, University of Southern California; Jenae Cipolla, University of Southern California

• Heterogeneity in Pediatric EEG Data Processing and Analysis: A state of the Field and Implications for Preregistration - Presenting Author: Sonya V. Troller-Renfree, Teachers College, Columbia University

• Under-Reported Task Parameters Can Impact Conclusions Drawn From EEG Research - Presenting Author: George A Buzzell, Florida International University; Yanbin Niu, Vanderbilt University; Emily Machado; Renata Dickinson