NeuroSky MindWave Headset:

Accuracy of a Single-Electrode
EEG
By
Salvador De La Rosa, Grayson Grimes,
Nino Jajvani, and Ivy Rodriguez

Abstract
This study investigated the NeuroSky
Mindwave headset as a inexpensive alternative to
EEG machines. Multiple studies have been
conducted to investigate the accuracy of the
NeuroSky Mindwave headset. The purpose of the
study was to build on past research to determine if
the NeuroSky Mindwave headset could be used as
a research tool for high school students. The
participants were given a concentration task for 30
seconds and then the a 20 second resting period
before the next task. It was hypothesized that a
resting time added in between pictures from the
Snowy Pictures Test would amplify the difference in
resting and attentive brain waves. Data from the
NeuroSky Mindwave Headset was recorded using
the application NeuroSky Recorder and stored in
Dropbox. However the NeuroSky Recorder
application had a peak limitation that did not allow
data to be collected from the NeuroSky headset in
its entirety. Areas of high attention and low
attention frequencies were still able to be
distinguished and graphed. The data collected
suggests that the NeuroSky Mindwave headset
could be used by high school students for purposes
that do not require precise numbered data.
Introduction
In todays world, modern technological
advances have allowed us to be able to measure
brainwave
frequencies
through

Left to right; Grayson Grimes, Ivy

Rodriguez , Nino Jajvani, and
Salvador De La Rosa
Electroencephalogram scans (EEG). This allows
researchers and medical professionals to see the
different brain waves that fire off in the brain and
classify them with certain functions and disorders.
NeuroSky will not replace EEG for medical
diagnostic test, but could be used for research,
education and helping students with special needs.
This technology works by placing a headset with a
dry, single-electrode plate on the forehead. Then
the ear clip is placed on the earlobe to provide a
ground to the circuit. This method is far more
inexpensive and simplistic than traditional EEG
scans because it does not need a trained
professional to operate. With all the pros and cons
of this device, does the accuracy of a scan provide
enough evidence to implement this technology
instead of traditional EEG in research done by high
school students?
What the NeuroSky MindWave headset
lacks in accuracy, it makes up its low cost.
Traditional EEG scans typically cost between $800
to $3000, compared to the $99 headset offered
from the Neurosky. In one study, a 72 percent
accuracy rate was accomplished with the help of a
data analysis program called MATLAB (Chee-Keong,
Wai 2015). Around 35 percent of participants said
the headset was neither comfortable nor
uncomfortable (Mendez-Rebolledo et. al, 2009). A
study investigating Neurosky's ability to detect
attention levels while doing different tasks asked 40

participants to fill out a questionnaire while their

brainwaves were being recorded by the Neurosky
headset. A video game tutorial was used to assist
them through the process while use-generated data
was being collected. The results showed that even
with minor complication during the testing like
head size, battery running out, and distractions,
attention levels could still be detected by Neurosky
headset.
Future implementations were found to be
easily achievable due to the headsets output of
data through a recorder. The output from the
NeuroSky headset is in the form of raw values that
can then be turned into programmable functions.
Another possibility is programming functions to be
executed once a threshold is met for a specific
brainwave (Rani, Kiran, 2015). The harder a
participant concentrates on a specific image, the
higher the frequency of the beta wave, allowing for
a threshold system to be implemented. This ability
increases the applications and the potential of
NeuroSky Mindwave headsets. Improvements
suggest that the NeuroSkys design allow for a
wider range of the placement of the singleelectrode that the NeuroSky is equipped with
(Grierson, Kiefer, 2011). The current design of
headset includes an electrode set on an arm that
moves downwards to rests over different positions
of the forehead, depending on the size of the users
head.
An EEG signal data transmission device was
used to measure brain activity through a previous
version of the NeuroSky Mindwave headset, the
NeuroSky Mindflex. The data transmission device, a
brain computer interface based smart living
environmental auto-adjustment control system
(BSLEACS) was designed for long term monitoring
of people in order to develop a kind of detection
software or even drowsiness detection software
that wakes the user when falling asleep at the
wheel. The study found the BSLEACS was an
effective means of using the NeuroSky MindFlex
headsets data to perform practical applications
such as helping elderly and paralyzed patients who
are not able to use their hands. (Rani, Kiran, 2015).
Similarities that seem to have run through
all articles relevant to the NeuroSky headset are the
conveyed accessibility and ease of use for the

NeuroSky Headset. Two research teams compared

brain wave, data with self-reported questionnaires.
All the studies seem to agree on one thing, that the
NeuroSky headset, if found to be an accurate
alternative to EEG machines, could pose incredibly
groundbreaking benefits to the entire world
(Grierson, Kiefer, 2011) (Robbins, Stonehill, 2014).
Nearly anyone and everyone could find a place to
integrate the NeuroSky headset in order to be of
some benefit. This could be at schools in order to
determine what kind of learning a student responds
best to, in businesses to determine the most
efficient way to engage workers, or even for
personal use at home in order to determine what
kind of studying activity engages you the best.
There are numerous variables that were
implemented into this study from a variety of
studies. The cognitive Snowy Pictures test, used by
Robbins and Stonehill (2014), consists of a
sequence of pictures behind a distorted, snowy
obstructive background that makes the subject
focus harder on the image. Robbins and Stonehill
(2014), suggested the timeslot be shortened from
the 90 seconds to a 20 second resting period with a
30 second window for each picture to allow the
subject to have enough time to guess the image.
The resting period was added to induce a neutral,
neurological state of the participants mind in
between each picture. The 20 seconds are crucial
because it gives a more distinctive section of data
to compare to the brainwave levels. Robbins and
Stonehill (2014) suggested that introducing a rest
period would provide balance between data clarity
and trial duration. The resting periods would allow
the observation of low frequencies allowing the
ability to compare brain waves during stimulation.
Due to the fact that beta waves are significantly
easier to record and evaluate, they will be the focus
of this study. With the questionnaire post-test
completed by each participant, this study hoped to
find if the accuracy of the NeuroSky MindWave
headsets provides significantly accurate readings to
expand its usability. It was predicted that if a 20
second resting period was added in between the
snowy pictures test, values between resting and
attentive brain waves would be statistically
significant enough to support the Neurosky headset
as an alternative to EEG machines.

Methods
Participants
Participants for the study included 23 high
school students from the Center for Advanced
Research and Technologys (CART) Psychology and
Human Behavior lab, who volunteered for the
study. CART is a joint power high school for juniors
and seniors, attending Clovis Unified or Fresno
Unified School Districts.
Materials
In order to run this experiment, the
Neurosky Mindwave Headset was connected by
bluetooth to an iPad. There were two apps that
recorded and saved our data on the iPad. The
Recorder was the name of the app that recorded
and Dropbox was the name of the app that saved
the data. Both applications are free from the
iTunes App Store. A self-completion questionnaire
called NASA TLX from Robbins and Stonehills study
(2014) was given to the participants. The cognitive
test that was used was also taken from the Robbins
and Stonehill study which is called the Snowy
Pictures Test (STP). This test consists of various
images with obstructed backgrounds to make the
image hard to focus on, making attention levels
peak. A Microsoft PowerPoint was used to project
each picture of the SPT on a laptop.
The testing environment was setup by
placing panel that was set around the computer
that was used to show the power point. A clicker
was used to switch slides without interacting
directly in front of the participant. A charger was
connected to both the iPad and computer to insure
that both were operating properly throughout
testing. A script was used to avoid any
discrepancies between each participant.
Procedure
The current study is based off of the
procedure and recommendations made by Robbins
and Stonehill (2014). Participants were taken to the
laboratory, the experiment was explained to each
participant and informed consent was obtained.
The NeuroSky was fitted to each participant and a
wait time was done of 7-10 seconds for the
Recorder application to recognize the data. The
Snowy Pictures test was conducted on each
participant. Once each participant completed the

SPT, the NASA TLX questionnaire was administered.

Results
Limitations of the free recording application
only gave a partial reading. Partial readings
indicated that the file was too large for the
Recorder to process all the brainwaves from the
entire testing period. Due to the limitation in the
recorded peaks of the data, a correlation between
the self-reported questionnaires and the data
recorded from NeuroSky Mindwave headset was
not able to be done. There were still areas of low
frequencies followed by areas of high frequencies
gathered from the readings, which were then
graphed in Microsoft Excel (see Figure 1).
Discussion
The first hypothesis of introducing a resting
period of 20 seconds in between each snowy
picture to allow easier distinguishability from
concentrating and meditative brainwave levels was
supported. Once the raw values were graphed
using Excel, difference between these two sections
of data could be seen. Due to the cut off of
brainwave values, the amplification of the
brainwave levels through MATLAB was not needed
because the data that would be amplified being
inaccurate. A frequent problem that arose during
testing was connection errors that had to do with
the iPad not being in range as well as the single
electrode of the headset being frequently displaced
by simple movements of the head. The second
issue that came up was with the data that was
being collected from the Neurosky Recorder
application. The information that was received by
the Recorder application was not collected in its
entirety, likely because of the sheer mass of the
data that NeuroSky sent to the application. The
data collected was often cut off or reduced in one
or many processes. There are multiple possibilities
for where the data was lost such as, the process
between the NeuroSky headset sending the data to
the Recorder app or when the data was exported
from the recorder app to Dropbox or even when
data was taken from dropbox and exported into
Microsoft Excel.
A proposed improvement that was
introduced was the addition of a resting period
between every obstructed image to be able to
achieve a more distinguishable set of readings

between attentive and meditative (Stonehill,

Robbins, 2014). Participants in this study were
given a timed 20 second resting period between
each snowy picture to make readings more
statistically significant as suggested. Due to the
incapability of the Recorder application that was
used to log and record data from the NeuroSky
MindWave headset, averages were not able to be
obtained. This is a major dilemma because
correlations are not able to be taken, comparing
differences between subjects and correlations
between post-test questionnaires and attention
levels in percentages. Linear graphs were
presented in the primary study with these results
to show this correlation between questionnaires
and the test performed. Although a difference can
be seen in the graphical representation without the
ability to export it to MATLAB we were not able to
compute the possible correlation.
The usefulness of the Neurosky MindWave
headset seems limited. With linear graphs it is
possible to distinguish the resting period and
testing period however attention level frequencies
during the testing period are problematically close
to each while in the Microsoft Excel Worksheet the
data was huge and presented in milliseconds all of
this makes it impossible for us to gather the
information needed and compare it to the selfcompletion questionnaire filled out by the
participants after the snowy picture test. In order
to avoid this issue other research tools can be used
for recording data. One of the possible alternatives
could be Mindrec. The MindRec program is useful
for researchers and neuromarketers. The MindRec
enables researchers to record all continuous
streaming data from the NeuroSky MindSet as well
as video synchronized with brainwaves to the hard
disk. Since the original recording can be huge
MindRec allows the person to edit the record to
only required areas and even though the recorded
data format is its own format MindRec allows you
to translate it to a CSV format so you can read it
from many spreadsheet applications, like Microsoft
Excel (NeuroSky store).
Other substitutes for data recording program are
provided by Neurosky MindWave Research Tools
(MRT). It enables researchers to use the MindSet as
a data collection device. The MRT includes the

NeuroView software, with this it is easier to connect

to the device and not have any glitches. The data is
recorded from headset to log files, which can be
opened in Excel and MATLAB. It is viewed in meter,
graphs, and immediate feedback will be given
during
the
data
collection
experiments.
NeuroSkyLab, on the other hand, is targeted at the
more advanced EEG researcher who is comfortable
and familiar with the MATLAB environment. It
provides much more powerful capabilities than
NeuroView in terms of customization and real time
data viewing and analysis (NeuroSky store).
References
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correlation with cognitive stress. International
Journal of Computer Theory and Engineering, 7 (2),
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detection using commercial brain computing
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20Brain%20Interfacing%20for%20the%20Masses.pdf
Mendez-Rebelledo, G., Dunwell I., Martinez-Miron E.A,
Vargas-Cerdan M.D, Freitas S., Liarokapis F., GarciaGaona A.R(2009). Assessing neuroskys usability to
detect attention levels in an assessment exercise.
Retrieved from www.researchgate.net/
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Levels_in_an_Assessment_Exercise
Rani, A., H. M., & Kiran, P., (2015). A novel method for analysis
of eeg signals using brain wave data analyzer.

International Journal of Soft Computing and

Engineering, 5(2), 98-100.
Robbins, R., & Stonehill, M. (2014). Investigating the
neurosky mindwave eeg headset. Transport
Research Laboratory. Retrieved from http://
www.transportresearchfoundation.co.uk/PDF/
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