Study of the Impact of Physiological Artifacts on SSVEP Acquisition

Steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs) are recorded from the visual cortex and are widely used for brain–computer interfaces. Artifacts caused by muscle activity [electromyography (EMG)] and eye movements [electrooculography (EOG)] can reach several millivolts, while brain activity signals [electroencephalography (EEG)] have only several microvolts. EEG signals can be distorted by various types of artifacts. The authors are not aware of any works that have assessed the impact of such artifacts on the registration of SSVEP. In this letter, we examined the influence of different types of artifacts on the power of the EEG signal recorded from the visual cortex. Artifacts were recorded from 12 participants using eight EMG/EOG and eight EEG electrodes. We also identified the locations where it is worth recording EOG/EMG signals to use them to remove artifacts. Our results show that neck strain, swallowing, jaw clenching, and wincing are the most disruptive artifacts for SSVEP.