ABSTRACT
Another measure of brain activity, derived from EEG recordings, is the event-related brain potential (ERP). Unlike the EEG, which represents spontaneous brain activity, the ERP is generated as a response to specific stimuli, and is an average of a number of samples. These ERPs are time locked to stimulus events and have proven valuable to the psychophysiologist interested in a record of brain responses to stimuli, even when no other noticeable response occurs. A great deal of research effort has been devoted to studying the relationship between ERPs and human psychological activities. Most of the work has been conducted over the past 40 years and is continuing at a high rate. What makes the ERP so appealing is the possibility of relating specific brain responses to discrete psychological states and events and obtaining a more complete picture of the behavior being studied. The extensive research on ERPs indicates that it rivals heart activity as the most popular physiological variable studied by psychophysiologists and neuroscientists.
