Knowledge Base

Carry Out Data Acquisition

1. Place the headset on the test participant's head following the instructions in the User Guide - Diadem - Bitbrain.
2. Browse to the folder in which you installed the BitBrain Acquisition software and open the bin subfolder, for instance D:\BitBrain\bitbrain-acquisition-0.3\bitbrain-acquisition-0.3\bin.
3. Double-click the file named Bitbrain Acquisition.exe. A Console window will open.
4. In The Observer XT, create a new observation (Alt+F6).
5. To start data acquisition, click the Start Observation button. The Bitbrain window shows the channels in green (good connection), yellow (unstable connection) or red (bad or no connection).
6. If necessary, adjust the Diadem, wait a few seconds (more than 10) and then check whether the status of the channels has changed to green.
7. To stop data acquisition, click the Stop Observation button. The data are saved in the output folder that you defined during configuration. Both raw data (*_eeg.csv) and derived data (alpha, beta, delta and theta rhythms) are saved. The derived data are saved in the eeg_power subfolder.
8. Browse to the output folder and copy the data files from the BitBrain PC to The Observer PC in a 2-PC set-up.

Import the Bitbrain Data into The Observer XT

The Observer XT 17 has a built-in import profile for Bitbrain data. In The Observer XT 16 this is not present yet. If you work with The Observer XT 16, follow steps 1–3 below. If you use The Observer XT 17, you can skip these steps.

1. Make sure that The Observer XT is not running.
2. Download the zip file with the Bitbrain import profile (Profiles.zip) via your MyNoldus account (my.noldus.com) and copy it to The Observer PC.
3. Unzip the zip file and copy the import profile (BitBrain EEG.eip) and the folder with the data file (BitBrain EEG) to C:\ProgramData\Noldus\Common\Profiles.
   • Note: The ProgramData folder is a hidden folder. To view this folder, browse to C:\ and on the View tab select Hidden items.
4. Start The Observer XT and from the File menu select Import and then External Data. The Import External Data window opens.
5. Select the Bitbrain EEG (*.csv) import profile from the Files of type drop-down list.
6. Select the observation that corresponds with the data file.
7. Browse to the output folder and select the appropriate data file, either a data file with the raw EEG data or a data file with pre-processed data (alpha, beta, theta and delta activity). You can use the import profile for both types of data files. Click Open. The EEG data for each channel are now imported. The data stream names will appear in the Project Explorer and in the Independent Variable list.

Optionally, in The Observer XT you can select data, visualize them, carry out further data analysis and export the synchronized observational and EEG data. For details, see The Observer XT Help. You can also further process your data in EEGLab, Matlab or Python.

How to Interpret the Data

By measuring when and in what brain regions activity occurs, you can get important insights into brain functions. It is key to take the context into account when trying to interpret EEG data. The Bitbrain system allows you to measure alpha, beta, theta and delta activity.

• Alpha — In healthy awake adults, alpha waves occur while resting with the eyes closed. They disappear when people concentrate on a specific task. Relative asymmetry in alpha activity in the frontal cortex indicates positive affect and approach motivation (Paul et al., 2022).
• Beta — Beta waves are involved in conscious thought and logical thinking.
• Theta — Theta waves are relevant for cognition studies including learning, memory and spatial navigation. Recent research has shown that theta activity in the frontal cortex is an index for cognitive workload (Chikhi et al., 2022).
• Delta — Delta waves are the slowest brain waves in human subjects. They are related to sleep depth.

Source: The Observer XT 17 - BitBrain EEG, Noldus Information Technology