Now available: Protocol for reducing COVID-19 transmission risk in EEG research
/Simmons, A. M., & Luck, S. J. (2020). Protocol for Reducing COVID-19 Transmission Risk in EEG Research. Protocol Exchange. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.pex-974/v1
The COVID-19 pandemic triggered a pause in data collection for EEG research throughout much of the world. As conditions improve in some regions, many researchers would like to resume data collection. However, because the application of EEG electrodes typically involves close and prolonged exposure between the experimenter and the research participant, there will be some risk of viral infection in EEG experiments until there is an effective and widely used vaccine. It is therefore important to develop effective mitigation methods than can reduce the risks so that they are comparable to the risks that individuals will face in their daily lives (e.g., when visiting the grocery store or getting a haircut).
Toward that end, we created this protocol for reducing COVID-19 transmission risk in EEG research. We created this protocol with feedback from local EEG/ERP researchers, from neurologists who have experience with clinical EEG recordings, and from the worldwide EEG/ERP research community. The protocol is designed for use in relatively simple experimental paradigms with adult participants, but it could be easily adapted for other populations and paradigms. It could also be adapted for use with other recording methods. We assume that each researcher will carefully read the protocol and adapt it to local conditions.
If you use/adapt our protocol, please cite it!
Important: We are not implying that researchers in all locations should resume EEG recordings at this time. Resumption of research will depend on your local conditions and the rules imposed by your institution and your local, regional, and national governing bodies. However, once it is ethical and allowable for you to resume research, we hope that this protocol will help you conduct your research in a way that is safe for both laboratory personnel and research participants.