Within neuroscience, noninvasive imaging techniques have long been employed to measure the brain's function and activity. Among these, EEG has emerged as a strong candidate for use in behavioral and affective studies to explore questions of brain activity and development in adults and infants. EEG is an effective tool for measuring characteristics of cognition such as arousal, memory, emotional reactions, etc. However, recently, questions have been raised regarding systemic and racial biases through this technique's use; inadvertent exclusion of particular minority populations has resulted from limitations imposed on EEG’s compatibility with specific hair types/styles. This exclusion had unarguably created biases and limitations when generalizing findings through EEG methodology. Hudac et al.’s (2024) paper explores this exclusion of African-American representation in existing literature. It explores obstacles facing the issue of minority exclusion not just from EEG research but more comprehensively. I will expand upon the ideas from Hudac et al.’s (2024) paper using a comprehensive review from Choy et al. (2021) to further bolster these problems to achieve inclusive EEG research.
African Americans in the US have long faced inequity in receiving appropriate medical care, particularly in the context of head injuries. Care of this type is often lacking in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. As African-American individuals are disproportionately more likely to live in these communities, they are disproportionately more likely to experience health inequities regarding injury of this type. Hudac et al.’s (2024) paper sought to address this issue of African-American representation in the existing scientific literature, particularly in the context of head injury. The need for a study of this type is urgent, as the prevalence of African-American adolescent athletes is estimated to be between 46% and 64%. Despite this, passive recruitment strategies, such as fliers, struggles with access to transportation, etc., have plagued the inclusivity of EEG research and decreased the generalizability of findings. Additionally, EEG equipment is not equipped for African-American hair types. EEG requires a close connection between the electrode and the scalp to produce consistent, reliable readings, and these systems were not designed to accommodate coarse hair, which pushes back against the electrode. Ultimately, Hudac et al.’s (2024) paper aimed to describe new methodologies and to guide and provide recommendations to improve the diversity of EEG study participation.
These proposed methodologies were rooted in connecting the lab with the surrounding communities. The researchers built relationships with high school trainers, coaches, administrators, parents, and athletes involved in high school football programs throughout Alabama. The researchers made bi-weekly visits to schools, attended football games, and engaged with the community. Eventually, prospective participants were shown a demonstration of the EEG and then allowed to volunteer for the study. A key characteristic of this community engagement focus was the mobility allowed by the portable EEG system used; they emphasize that this mobile testing, combined with methods to engage within the community, allows the possibility of improving the representation of minority groups in scientific studies. The schools identified by the researchers that were predominantly African-American commonly lack access to healthcare professionals, opportunities to learn about brain injuries, and the diagnostic tools necessary for concussion testing. They posit that this inequity is the result of historical systemic racism and that poverty disproportionately affects African-American communities. This has shaped downstream research studies, contributing to the marginalization of communities and their underrepresentedness in research studies. These effects spill into disparities such as diagnosis, treatment, and outcomes of head injuries and, ultimately, the systemic barrier that has excluded African-American individuals from research and has created significant gaps in the existing literature. Hudac et al.’s (2024) paper highlights the benefits of diversifying research through methods such as portable EEG and mitigation of passive recruitment while underscoring the need for further methodological adaptations to account for coarse and curly hairstyles (Hudac et al., 2024).
Building upon this, Choy et al. (2021) explored the neuroscience EEG literature between September and October 2019, returning 81 articles. Only five of these explicitly reported having a sample with African-American participants, and even so, it was unclear if these participants' data were included in the final analyses. Choy also explores the effect of hairstyles, as analyzed by Hudac et al. (2024). They found common themes of certain hairstyles worn predominantly by African Americans adversely affecting the quality of the EEG data collected. They found that hair types characterized as curly or coiled can be formed into different hairstyles (i.e., cornrows, braids) that may affect reliable EEG data collection. Another characteristic of African-American hair that affects its conductance properties is the random reversals and directions commonly seen. Compared to Asian and Caucasian hair, African hair appears less likely to absorb liquid, a key factor in a wet EEG net application. These understandings align with Hudac et al.’s (2024) article and highlight the inequitable effects of EEG methodology, highlighting an urgent need for greater inclusionary measures.
Ultimately, understanding these two papers highlights a primary struggle currently facing the EEG literature. EEG researchers cannot find an appropriate method to retain the data collected from African-American American participants. The varying characteristics of African-American hair have proven that specific research methodologies have commonly been devised with the WEIRD sample in mind. The community of scientific researchers has an urgent responsibility to increase the diversity in EEG research and make the findings of their studies more applicable and generalizable; doing so benefits the accuracy of appropriate diagnoses and treatments for underrepresented groups and increases the accuracy of EEG studies' findings.
Works Cited
Choy, T., Baker, E., & Stavropoulos, K. (2021). Systemic Racism in EEG Research: Considerations and Potential solutions. Affective Science, 3(1), 14–20. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-021-00050-0
Hudac, C. M., Wallace, J. S., Ward, V. R., Friedman, N. R., Delfin, D., & Newman, S. D. (2022). Dynamic cognitive inhibition in the context of frustration: Increasing racial representation of adolescent athletes using mobile community-engaged EEG methods. Frontiers in Neurology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2022.918075
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