Odor cueing of declarative memories during sleep enhances coordinated spindles and slow oscillations

This paper describes FieldTrip, an open source software package that we developed for the analysis of MEG, EEG, and other electrophysiological data. The software is implemented as a MATLAB toolbox and includes a complete set of consistent and user-friendly high-level functions that allow experimental neuroscientists to analyze experimental data. It includes algorithms for simple and advanced analysis, such as time-frequency analysis using multitapers, source reconstruction using dipoles, distributed sources and beamformers, connectivity analysis, and nonparametric statistical permutation tests at the channel and source level. The implementation as toolbox allows the user to perform elaborate and structured analyses of large data sets using the MATLAB command line and batch scripting. Furthermore, users and developers can easily extend the functionality and implement new algorithms. The modular design facilitates the reuse in other software packages. Show more

In this paper, we show how ElectroEncephaloGraphic (EEG) and MagnetoEncephaloGraphic (MEG) data can be analyzed statistically using nonparametric techniques. Nonparametric statistical tests offer complete freedom to the user with respect to the test statistic by means of which the experimental conditions are compared. This freedom provides a straightforward way to solve the multiple comparisons problem (MCP) and it allows to incorporate biophysically motivated constraints in the test statistic, which may drastically increase the sensitivity of the statistical test. The paper is written for two audiences: (1) empirical neuroscientists looking for the most appropriate data analysis method, and (2) methodologists interested in the theoretical concepts behind nonparametric statistical tests. For the empirical neuroscientist, a large part of the paper is written in a tutorial-like fashion, enabling neuroscientists to construct their own statistical test, maximizing the sensitivity to the expected effect. And for the methodologist, it is explained why the nonparametric test is formally correct. This means that we formulate a null hypothesis (identical probability distribution in the different experimental conditions) and show that the nonparametric test controls the false alarm rate under this null hypothesis. Show more

A study with low statistical power has a reduced chance of detecting a true effect, but it is less well appreciated that low power also reduces the likelihood that a statistically significant result reflects a true effect. Here, we show that the average statistical power of studies in the neurosciences is very low. The consequences of this include overestimates of effect size and low reproducibility of results. There are also ethical dimensions to this problem, as unreliable research is inefficient and wasteful. Improving reproducibility in neuroscience is a key priority and requires attention to well-established but often ignored methodological principles. Show more