An Introduction to the Event-Related Potential Technique

The event-related potential (ERP) technique, in which neural responses to specificevents are extracted from the EEG, provides a powerful noninvasive tool for exploring the humanbrain. This volume describes practical methods for ERP research along with the underlyingtheoretical rationale. It offers researchers and students an essential guide to designing,conducting, and analyzing ERP experiments. This second edition has been completely updated, withadditional material, new chapters, and more accessible explanations. Freely available supplementarymaterial, including several online-only chapters, offer expanded or advanced treatment of selectedtopics. The first half of the book presents essential background information, describing the originsof ERPs, the nature of ERP components, and the design of ERP experiments. The second half of thebook offers a detailed treatment of the main steps involved in conducting ERP experiments, coveringsuch topics as recording the EEG, filtering the EEG and ERP waveforms, and quantifying amplitudesand latencies. Throughout, the emphasis is on rigorous experimental design and relatively simpleanalyses. New material in the second edition includes entire chapters devoted to components,artifacts, measuring amplitudes and latencies, and statistical analysis; updated coverage ofrecording technologies; concrete examples of experimental design; and many more figures. Onlinechapters cover such topics as overlap, localization, writing and reviewing ERP papers, and settingup and running an ERP lab.

Steven J. Luck is Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Mind and Brain at the University of California, Davis. A leading authority on ERP research, he leads ERP Boot Camps that provide ERP training to researchers from around the world.