Generalizability of developmental EEG: Demographic reporting, representation, and sample size
Electroencephalography (EEG) is one of the main neuroscientific measures used with infants and children to identify potential biomarkers of cognitive and social developmental processes. Given the implications of developmental EEG research within policy, clinical, and educational domains, it is impor...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-08-01
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| Series: | Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929325000623 |
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| author | Santiago Morales Lauren Oh Kylie Cox Ramiro Rodriguez-Sanchez Gina Nadaya George A. Buzzell Sonya V. Troller-Renfree |
| author_facet | Santiago Morales Lauren Oh Kylie Cox Ramiro Rodriguez-Sanchez Gina Nadaya George A. Buzzell Sonya V. Troller-Renfree |
| author_sort | Santiago Morales |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Electroencephalography (EEG) is one of the main neuroscientific measures used with infants and children to identify potential biomarkers of cognitive and social developmental processes. Given the implications of developmental EEG research within policy, clinical, and educational domains, it is important to ensure that reported results are generalizable and reproducible. In this review, to provide an initial assessment of previous and current practices regarding participant recruitment (sample size and representation) and demographic reporting, we carried out a systematic review of six notable journals for publishing pediatric EEG studies between 2011 and 2023. We identified 700 articles reporting on pediatric EEG. We found that most studies did not provide complete reporting of basic demographic information (e.g., race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographical location). This trend persisted across years of publication, suggesting continued underreporting. However, the reporting of demographic information differed between journals, suggesting solutions for improving reporting practices. Our review also indicated that samples were of modest sample size (Median = 51) and consisted of mostly White participants (78 %) from North America and Western Europe (85 %). Our discussion emphasizes the need for larger, more diverse samples and greater transparency in developmental EEG studies, while providing recommendations to address barriers to representation and reproducibility. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e3a64c62cbc74f4e89443db15a3ac4c7 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1878-9293 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience |
| spelling | doaj-art-e3a64c62cbc74f4e89443db15a3ac4c72025-08-20T03:13:29ZengElsevierDevelopmental Cognitive Neuroscience1878-92932025-08-017410156710.1016/j.dcn.2025.101567Generalizability of developmental EEG: Demographic reporting, representation, and sample sizeSantiago Morales0Lauren Oh1Kylie Cox2Ramiro Rodriguez-Sanchez3Gina Nadaya4George A. Buzzell5Sonya V. Troller-Renfree6Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Correspondence to: University of Southern California, 501 Seeley G. Mudd Building, Los Angeles 90089, USA.Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychology, California State University Dominguez Hills, CA, USADepartment of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USADepartment of Psychology, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA; Center for Children and Families, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USADepartment of Human Development, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY, USAElectroencephalography (EEG) is one of the main neuroscientific measures used with infants and children to identify potential biomarkers of cognitive and social developmental processes. Given the implications of developmental EEG research within policy, clinical, and educational domains, it is important to ensure that reported results are generalizable and reproducible. In this review, to provide an initial assessment of previous and current practices regarding participant recruitment (sample size and representation) and demographic reporting, we carried out a systematic review of six notable journals for publishing pediatric EEG studies between 2011 and 2023. We identified 700 articles reporting on pediatric EEG. We found that most studies did not provide complete reporting of basic demographic information (e.g., race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geographical location). This trend persisted across years of publication, suggesting continued underreporting. However, the reporting of demographic information differed between journals, suggesting solutions for improving reporting practices. Our review also indicated that samples were of modest sample size (Median = 51) and consisted of mostly White participants (78 %) from North America and Western Europe (85 %). Our discussion emphasizes the need for larger, more diverse samples and greater transparency in developmental EEG studies, while providing recommendations to address barriers to representation and reproducibility.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929325000623EEGERPDiversityRepresentationDemographicsReplicability |
| spellingShingle | Santiago Morales Lauren Oh Kylie Cox Ramiro Rodriguez-Sanchez Gina Nadaya George A. Buzzell Sonya V. Troller-Renfree Generalizability of developmental EEG: Demographic reporting, representation, and sample size Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience EEG ERP Diversity Representation Demographics Replicability |
| title | Generalizability of developmental EEG: Demographic reporting, representation, and sample size |
| title_full | Generalizability of developmental EEG: Demographic reporting, representation, and sample size |
| title_fullStr | Generalizability of developmental EEG: Demographic reporting, representation, and sample size |
| title_full_unstemmed | Generalizability of developmental EEG: Demographic reporting, representation, and sample size |
| title_short | Generalizability of developmental EEG: Demographic reporting, representation, and sample size |
| title_sort | generalizability of developmental eeg demographic reporting representation and sample size |
| topic | EEG ERP Diversity Representation Demographics Replicability |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878929325000623 |
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