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Guidelines and Best Practices for Electrophysiological Data Collection, Analysis and Reporting in Autism

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Abstract

The EEG reflects the activation of large populations of neurons that act in synchrony and propagate to the scalp surface. This activity reflects both the brain’s background electrical activity and when the brain is being challenged by a task. Despite strong theoretical and methodological arguments for the use of EEG in understanding the neural correlates of autism, the practice of collecting, processing and evaluating EEG data is complex. Scientists should take into consideration both the nature of development in autism given the life-long, pervasive course of the disorder and the disability of altered or atypical social, communicative, and motor behaviors, all of which require accommodations to traditional EEG environments and paradigms. This paper presents guidelines for the recording, analyzing, and interpreting of EEG data with participants with autism. The goal is to articulate a set of scientific standards as well as methodological considerations that will increase the general field’s understanding of EEG methods, provide support for collaborative projects, and contribute to the evaluation of results and conclusions.

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Acknowledgments

Support for the Special Interest Group for EEG/MEG in Autism was provided by the International Society for Autism Research. Support for writing was provided by the American Psychological Association (Lerner), American Psychological Foundation (Lerner); Association for Psychological Science (Lerner), Brain & Behavior Research Foundation/NARSAD (McPartland), Innovative Medicines Initiative resources of which are composed of financial contribution from the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (FP7/2007–2013) and EFPIA companies’ in kind contribution (115300 Jones), Jefferson Scholars Foundation (Lerner), National Institutes of Health (K23MH086785 McPartland; P50HD055782 Webb; P50NS22343 Townsend; R01DC010290 Nelson; R01MH078829 Nelson; R01MH082820 Rojas; R21MH091309 McPartland & Bernier; R01MH10028 Webb, Nelson, Bernier, McPartland; R21MH096582 Townsend & Westerfield; R21/R33MH096967 Townsend & Westerfield), Simons Foundation (Bernier, Johnson, Nelson), and the UK Medical Research Council (G0701484 Johnson). A special thanks to all of the families and participants who join with us in physiological research.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, M/S CW8-6, SCRI Po Box 5371, Seattle, WA, 98145, USA

    Sara Jane Webb & Raphael Bernier

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL, USA

    Heather A. Henderson

  3. Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development, Birkbeck, University of London, London, UK

    Mark H. Johnson & Emily J. H. Jones

  4. Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA

    Matthew D. Lerner

  5. Yale Child Study Center, New Haven, CT, USA

    James C. McPartland

  6. Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA, USA

    Charles A. Nelson

  7. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Charles A. Nelson

  8. Departments of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Denver, Aurora, CO, USA

    Donald C. Rojas

  9. Department of Neurosciences, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Jeanne Townsend

  10. Institute for Neural Computation, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA

    Marissa Westerfield

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  1. Sara Jane Webb
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Correspondence to Sara Jane Webb.

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Webb, S.J., Bernier, R., Henderson, H.A. et al. Guidelines and Best Practices for Electrophysiological Data Collection, Analysis and Reporting in Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 45, 425–443 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1916-6

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