Are Low-Cost EEG Systems Viable for Scaling Cognitive Neuroscience Research?

Low-cost consumer-grade electroencephalography (EEG) amplifiers have been around for morethan a decade, yet their viability for cognitive neuroscience research remains mostly unexplored. These low-cost amplifiers are an attractive potential tool for naturalistic neuroimaging and recording neuroscience data at scale. In this study, we simultaneously recorded data from eight EEG channels using the low-cost OpenBCI Cyton and the high-cost, state-of-the-art Brain Vision BrainAmp. We analyzed three well-studied event-related brain potential (ERP) components (P3b, N4, ERN) and found that there were no significant differences between the signals recorded from the BrainAmp and Cyton, and that both amplifiers adequately captured all three components. We conclude that the Cyton is suitable for traditional ERP-based cognitive neuroscience research, although it has limitations that are discussed.