EEG Signals from an RSVP Task

@article{pollard_physionet_2026, title = {{PhysioNet} as a global platform for biomedical research}, volume = {1}, issn = {3005-0693}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s44360-026-00096-z}, doi = {10.1038/s44360-026-00096-z}, abstract = {Twenty-five years after its first public repository was established, the PhysioNet resource for biomedical and clinical data has enabled tens of thousands of research papers. Further efforts are ongoing to advance secure data sharing, community engagement and scalable research infrastructure.}, number = {8}, journal = {Nature Health}, author = {Pollard, Tom and Moody, Benjamin E. and Lehman, Li-wei H. and Gow, Brian J. and Fernandes, Chrystinne and Xie, Chen and Johnson, Alistair and Mark, Roger G. and Heldt, Thomas}, month = aug, year = {2026}, pages = {792--795},}

Abstract

This project contains EEG data from 11 healthy participants upon rapid presentation of images through the Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) protocol at speeds of 5, 6, and 10 Hz.

Data Collection

The images are aerial pictures of London, subtending 11.5 x 11.8 degrees of visual angle. Target images contained a randomly rotated and positioned airplane that had been photo realistically superimposed. Non-target images did not contain airplanes. The horizontal position of a target was defined as the x-coordinate of the centroid of the airplane. Lateral targets (the ones included in this database) were those the centroid of which was positioned at a visual angle of at least +/-1.2 degrees of visual axis on the horizontal axis (with respect to the centre of the screen), and they represented about 60% of the target images.

Data Files

The data presented here are EEG signals from 8 channels following the 10-20 system (PO8, PO7, PO3, PO4, P7, P8, O1 and O2) during a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) task.

The file names have the following format: rsvp_{5,6,10}Hz_{participant_id}{a,b}.edf

For each presentation rate and participant there are two files. The last field (either "a" or "b") just indicates which one was taken first. Participants took a long break between both files.

Each of these files contains a continuous EEG recording from a participant and presentation rate as given in the file name. Samples are measured in microVolts.

The annotations specify the onset of each image, and whether it was a target (T=1) or not (T=0). If the image contained a target, the x-coordinate of its centroid (ranging 0-640, measured in pixels) is also given in the annotation.

EEG data have been filtered between 0.15-28 Hz and the sampling rate is 2048 Hz.

Cited by

45 publications cite this project. The most recent are listed below.

• A Lightweight and Explainable EEG Framework for Attention Detection in Rapid Serial Visual Presentation Tasks
  Kevin A. Rodriguez Sanchez, Pei Yuting, Emmanuel Elochukwu et al. International Conference on Neural Networks and Neurotechnologies (NeuroNT), 2026.
• Domain generalized feature embedded learning for calibration-free event-related potentials recognition
  Tian-jian Luo. Cognitive Neurodynamics, 2026.
• Optimized Digital Filtering of EEG Signals for ERP Preservation and Noise Suppression
  Md. Mostafa Goni, Amir KhosruTalha, Yaseen Rahat et al. IEEE International Women in Engineering (WIE) Conference on Electrical and Computer Engineering (WIECON-ECE), 2025.
• Recurrence plots for the analysis of generalized synchronization by real physiological signals
  Илларионова Екатерина Дмитриевна, О. И. Москаленко. The European Physical Journal Special Topics, 2025.
• A Decade of Rapid Serial Visual Presentation Paradigm in Brain–Computer Interface for Target Detection: Current Status and Trends
  Meng Xu, Baiwen Zhang, Lijian Zhang et al. IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering, 2025.

View all 45 publications

Citation data from OpenAlex. Papers that use the project without citing it may be missing.