Effects of electrode density and electrolyte spreading in dense array electroencephalographic recording

Objective: High-density EEG recording offers increased spatial resolution but requires careful consideration of how the density of electrodes affects the potentials being measured. Power differences as a function of electrode density and electrolyte spreading were examined and a method for correcting these differences was tested. Methods: Separate EEG recordings from 8 participants were made using a high-density electrode net, first with 6 of 128 electrodes active followed by recordings with all electrodes active. For a subset of 4 participants measurements were counterbalanced with recordings made in the reversed order by drying the hair after the high-density recordings and using a fresh dry electrode net of the same size for the low-density recordings. Mean power values over 6 resting eyes open/closed EEG recordings at the 6 active electrodes common to both recording conditions were compared. Evidence for possible electrolyte spreading or bridging between electrodes was acquired by computing Hjorth electrical distances. Spherical spline interpolation was tested for correcting power values at electrodes affected by electrolyte spreading for these participants and for a subset of participants from a larger previous study. Results: For both the complete set and the counterbalanced subset, significant decreases in power at the 6 common electrodes for the high-density recordings were observed across the range of the standard EEG bands (1-44 Hz). The number of bridges or amount of electrolyte spreading towards the reference electrode as evidenced by small Hjorth electrical distances served as a predictor of this power decrease. Spherical spline interpolation increased the power values at electrodes affected by electrolyte spreading and by a significant amount for the larger number of participants in the second group. Conclusions: Understanding signal effects caused by closely spaced electrodes, detecting electrolyte spreading and correcting its effects are important considerations for high-density EEG recordings. A combination of scalp maps of power density and plots of small Hjorth electrical distances can be used to identify electrodes affected by electrolyte spreading. Interpolation using spherical splines offers a method for correcting the potentials measured at these electrodes. (C) 2003 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.