[Eeglablist] Is average reference not recommended on 10-20 system?

[Cedric Cannard]

Dear Jinwon,

Yes, it's sometimes recommended with less than 64 channels (see references below). Some even recommend against using average reference with less than 128 channels (see for example Nunez and Srinivasan, 2006). You'd need electrodes all around the brain for the mathematical assumption to be fully valid. The reference to infinity (REST plugin) has been validated for 32 channels or more and is preferable, but the average reference is generally acceptable. They all have their own limitations. You could compare and show your reviewer if that changes the results. 

The REST plugin is available from EEGLAB's extension manager. It can only be applied using a GUI. Let me know if you need command line, I have the code. I will submit it as a plugin soon.

For more detail, see:
Yao, D. et al. A comparative study of different references for EEG spectral mapping: the issue of the neutral reference and the use of the infinity reference. Physiol. Meas. 26, 173–184 (2005)

Yao, D. et al. Which Reference Should We Use for EEG and ERP practice? Brain Topogr. 32, 530–549 (2019).

Dong, L. et al. MATLAB Toolboxes for Reference Electrode Standardization Technique (REST) of Scalp EEG. Front. Neurosci. 11, 601 (2017).


Cedric Cannard, PhD


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------- Original Message -------
On Thursday, June 15th, 2023 at 8:17 AM, 장진원 via eeglablist <eeglablist at sccn.ucsd.edu> wrote:


> Dear all,
> 
> One of my reviewers has suggested that because average reference relies on
> the assumption that the electrode coverage represents a sphere, it is not
> good to average-reference with electrodes less than 64. I have used the
> average-referencing as recommended on
> https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://eeglab.org/tutorials/05_Preprocess/rereferencing.html__;!!Mih3wA!D_yQ2dwBfLAhlMiue98MMVMBa2NNnbOxZRm_SDLtYScegpGg5wR7Ly9SmCRGov3uc7pP5TS6NKxNf9Zs2cdtn560dQ$ , so I wonder
> what could be the alternative.
> 
> Best Regards,
> Jinwon Chang
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