EEGLAB Plugins
From SCCN
EEGLAB plug-ins allow users to build and contribute new data processing and/or visualization functions that will appear automatically in the EEGLAB menu of any users who download them. (See toolbox information below).
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Plug-ins included in EEGLAB:
Several plug-ins are included in the main EEGLAB (v5.0b and later) distribution:
- DIPFIT2: Dipole modeling of independent data components using a spherical or boundary element head model. Uses functions from the FIELDTRIP toolbox of Robert Oostenveld at the Donders Center, University of Nijmegen. A DIPFIT2 tutorial is available.
- BIOSIG data import: Import/export data in a wide variety of data formats. Data import and export functions of the BIOSIG toolbox of Alois Schloegel of the University of Graz is included in the EEGLAB release. For a list of data formats supported by BIOSIG, refer to this page. The included BIOSIG data import functions are automatically detected and interfaced with EEGLAB. The BIOSIG toolbax contains additional functions. Download the full BIOSIG from Sourceforge. Uncompress them at the same level of the main EEGLAB folder.
- CTF data import: Import CTF MEG data. Available from Darren Weber's EEG sourceforge project, this plug-in imports MEG data (plus concurrent EEG, if any) plus sensor locations and data events from data in the CTF (Vancouver, CA) data format. To download this plugin separately, on the Unix/Linux commandline type
% cvs -z3 -d:pserver:anonymous:@cvs.sourceforge.net:/cvsroot/eeg checkout ctf
Then follow the instructions in the downloaded file 'README_EEGLAB_PLUGIN.txt'.
- ANT data import (v1.02): Import data files in the EEP format. Contributed by ANT Software (Netherlands) to import data in their format. Download latest version updates here. Email contact: info@ant-software.nl.
- BVA data import/export: Import/export files from/to the Brain Vision Software Analyser suite. Contributed by Andreas Widmann of the University of Leipzig (Germany) with Arnaud Delorme. Download latest updates from the sourceforge bva-io project.
- Neuroimaging 4D: Christian Wienbruch of the University of Konstanz (Germany) has a plug-in available for loading Neuroimaging 4-D data into EEGLAB. Download link is here
- IIRfilt: Infinite impulse response filtering: Apply short non-linear filters to EEGLAB data. Contributed by Maksyn Pozdin.
- FMRIB: Remove FMRI-environment artifacts from EEGLAB data. This plug-in, by Rami Niazy of Cardiff University (Wales, UK), allows removal of scanner-related artifacts from EEG data collected during fMRI scanning. These tools provide a gui for removing FMRI gradient artifacts, detecting QRS complexes from an ECG channel, and removing pulse-related ballistocardiographic (BCG) artifacts from the EEG data. All of the tools can also be used from the Matlab command line, allowing expert users to use them in custom scripts. The plug-in, a tutorial and more information can be downloaded here.
- LORETA: Import/export commandline bridge function between EEGLAB and this well-known 'low-resolution' EEG source imaging approach by R.D. Pascual-Marqui. Plugin contributed by Arnaud Delorme.
- CLUSTSET: Cluster ICs of a single dataset by their residual mutual information. See tutorial here. Contributed by Nima Bigdely Shamlo of SCCN (UCSD, La Jolla)
Other available plug-ins:
Several other EEGLAB plug-ins are available from authors' or maintainers' web sites. To allow us to add new plug-ins or information to the list below, send an email to us at eeglab@sccn.ucsd.edu.
- BATCH (aka NightCrew): A set of functions by James Desjardins of Brock University (Canada) that use EEG.history to minimize scripting time and to make history-based scripting more available to EEGLAB users who are not familiar with Matlab script writing. Under ideal conditions, scripting of complex procedures can be performed on several independent files from the EEGLAB user interface Batch menu with no script editing required. The download link is here. Email James here.
- LOC: Perform approximate localization of electrocorticographic electrode positions from x-ray images, as documented by Kai Miller (University of Washington, Seattle) in this J. Neurosci. Methods paper. The download link is here (27.8 MB).
- LIINC plugins: Cogniscan data import, Linear Discrimination, Generalized Eigenvalue decomposition, Common Spatial Patterns, Peak Fitting, Eye Movement Removal: Paul Sajda and colleagues at the LIINC Lab at Columbia University (New York City) distribute several plug-ins for use in single-trial response detection. A reference article has been published here. The download link is here.
- Automatic Artifact Removal (AAR) toolbox: This toolbox (web page here) implemented as an EEGLAB plugin aims to integrate several state-of-the-art methods for automatic removal of ocular and muscular artifacts in the electroencephalogram (EEG). Contact is German Gomez Herrero (Tampere, Finland) for details.
- Micromed data import: Micromed (Italy) has a plug-in available for loading their data format into EEGLAB. Contact Cristiano Rizzo for details.
- TDT data import: Adam Wilson at the NITRO Lab at the University of Wisconsin Madison (USA) makes a plug-in available for loading Tucker-Davis Technology format data into EEGLAB. For more information and download, go here.
- Grandaverage: Perform grand averaging across specified EEGLAB datasets. Contributed by Andreas Widmann of the University of Leipzig (Germany). Download here.
- FIRfilt: Apply a variety of linear filters to EEGLAB data. Contributed by Andreas Widmann (Leipzig, Germany). More information and latest version updates are available here.
- BESAfit: dipole modeling using BESA3: Computes equivalent dipole locations for independent data components using BESA (old) version 3.0 (Megis Software, Germany) run external to Matlab. Download plug-in 1.0 here.
- BERGEN: Removal of fMRI-related gradient artifacts from simultaneous EEG-fMRI data. The BERGEN plug-in for EEGLAB provides a gui with different methods for gradient artifact correction. Contributed by Matthias Moosmann and Emanuel Neto. Download plug-in here.
Active plug-in development:
SCCN, Andreas Widmann, and the LIINC lab are among the several labs building new EEGLAB plug-ins. Check this page and these authors' web sites for new EEGLAB plug-ins.
The ERPLAB Toolbox, a set of open source, freely available Matlab routines for analyzing ERP data, will operate as a set of plugins for the EEGLAB Toolbox. It is currently under development, with a public release expected by July 1, 2009. The development of ERPLAB Toolbox is being coordinated by Steve Luck and Javier Lopez-Calderon at UC Davis, and a community of laboratories who will be contributing to the project.
The Neuroelectromagnetic Head Modeling (NHM) Toolbox has been released by Zeynep Akalin Acar at SCCN. It allows building accurate boundary element method (BEM) electrical head models from MR head images and/or electrode position data. A meeting poster about the toolbox is available.--> Get more information here
To install or update a plug-in
(for example, 'myplugin', below).
Uncompress the plug-in download file in the main EEGLAB "plugins" sub-directory or in the main EEGLAB folder (where the main function 'eeglab.m' is located). Remove the old version of the plugin if it is present in the directory. Then restart EEGLAB. During start-up, EEGLAB should print the following on the Matlab command line:
eeglab: adding plugin "eegplugin_myplugin"
%(see >> help eegplugin_myplugin)
To make EEGLAB ignore a downloaded plug-in, simply move its folder from the EEGLAB plugins directory.
To construct and publish a new plug-in
See the simple instructions in How to contribute to EEGLAB.
External program interfaced in EEGLAB
- Fieldtrip: The Fieldtrip software is included in EEGLAB and is used for source localization. Fieldtrip also contains the FileIO module which is used to import some file formats.
- BIOSIG: The BIOSGIG Matlab toolbox is included in EEGLAB and is used to import some file formats (EDF for instance).
- bioelectromagnetism_light: The bioelectromagnetism Matlab toolbox is included in EEGLAB and is used to visualize some ERP features. Note that only a few files from this toolbox are included in EEGLAB.
