And I get paid for it!
In the future, I will probably not remember what my head went through on Monday, so I thought I'd write it down in hopes that this detailed account will one day spark flickering memories of my once glorious college years that are so rapidly coming to a close.
The time: Sunday night
The place: My apartment
What was I doing: Not-showering for science.
They didn't want any kind of product in my hair (they being the people running the EEG study I would soon be participating in) so they ask me to not wash it the day before. I realized that didn't mean I couldn't shower, but eeh. Stinky is as stinky does.
So Monday morning, I woke up at 8:30, dressed, skipped breakfast because I forgot to bring a stupid spoon with me (stupid spoons... gar, why are you in the kitchen corner where it's hard to see you?) and walked over to Marie Mount, the building that never ceases to annoy me. Then I walked up to the pretty sweet language research suite (that's probably not what they call it) and was swept into signing a pretty standard consent form.
By the way, I just realized they said the only harm that would come to me during the study would be discomfort from sitting for 3 hours. I think they missed something, but I'll get to that later.
I signed the consent form and the experimenter told me more specifically what they're looking for in the study. Basically they wanted to see the brain processes I use while I'm reading English sentences and trying to determine if the sentences are 'correct' or 'false'. Then he (the experimenter) proceeded to put the EEG gap on my head.
I was expecting the EEG gap we use in our lab currently, which is basically a flexible net with nodes on it. Then we pipe a solution under the nodees to increase its conductivity of the kids' brain waves. What I got was the EEG caps they used to use in the lab, which I had seen hanging out (literally) in the lab but never seen used. Now I know why.
This one is also a net, but it's a solid net with the nodes build into the cap. So you can't stick a pipette under the net to squeeze any solution under the nodes. However, there are holes in the nodes and the experimenter explained he'd be using a dull needle to put a gel into the nodes to increase connectivity. And it would take about an hour and a half to do.
While he was doing this, I got to watch TV on Hulu, which was pretty cool (My choices were 30 Rock, The Office and Parks & Recreation) For most of that 1hr and 30mins, I was fairly comfortable. The experimenter basically just stuck the dull needle into the node-holes and screwed it in a little bit. Nothing to worry about. But then apparently 3 of the nodes weren't dropping under the treshhold they had set (in the CDL we do it around 50, but this lab keeps in between 10-15, except I found out this experimenter had dropped it to 5... nice)
So he and another experimenter spent about 30 minutes literally screwing the needle into my head to get the nodes to connect better. It was then that I started to notice the pressure that was putting on my head. And after 10 minutes of solid screwing motion, it really started to hurt... The needle cut my scalp at the node right on the front of my hairline and also the one on my temple (that one hurt the most; my temple is a delicate place, guys).
Anyway, after that I was ready to start the study. I was told I'd get a break every 15 minutes so I figured it would be like how they have it at the CDL - there'd be a break automatically built in the program. So I sat there, starting at the black sentences on an white screen, on a white apple computer, on a white desk before a white wall in a white cubical. Needless to say, my butt and my eyes were not happy. The thing about EEGs is you need to stay really still since the brain wave readings are affected by even the slightest movements, even blinking. And I know they expected me to move some, but I wanted to be a nice little participant and stay as still as I could.
After about 15 minutes, I asked for a break before starting the second block. It was then that I realized that the breaks weren't built into the program; it was up to the discression of the experimenter to stop it and he was supposed to tell me every 15 minutes to take a break. But he was new so he wasn't. I had a watch and I was timing the task. So after maybe 20-30 minutes, I asked for another break. Because my eyes were completely dry and my back was killing me. The experimeter told me I'd have about another 30 minutes, so I sucked it up and got back to work, hoping to plow through the last couple. Except it lasted for only about 3 minutes, since I had plowed through them already during my second go. I REALLY wanted to stop looking at that screen.
So he took the EEG cap off, I washed my hair in the sink since it was full of gel and then I went to my psychology class at 1pm. Sweet. $30 for minimal effort and a little discomfort. Now I can cross 'participate in an EEG study' off my list of things to do before I die.
The time: Sunday night
The place: My apartment
What was I doing: Not-showering for science.
They didn't want any kind of product in my hair (they being the people running the EEG study I would soon be participating in) so they ask me to not wash it the day before. I realized that didn't mean I couldn't shower, but eeh. Stinky is as stinky does.
So Monday morning, I woke up at 8:30, dressed, skipped breakfast because I forgot to bring a stupid spoon with me (stupid spoons... gar, why are you in the kitchen corner where it's hard to see you?) and walked over to Marie Mount, the building that never ceases to annoy me. Then I walked up to the pretty sweet language research suite (that's probably not what they call it) and was swept into signing a pretty standard consent form.
By the way, I just realized they said the only harm that would come to me during the study would be discomfort from sitting for 3 hours. I think they missed something, but I'll get to that later.
I signed the consent form and the experimenter told me more specifically what they're looking for in the study. Basically they wanted to see the brain processes I use while I'm reading English sentences and trying to determine if the sentences are 'correct' or 'false'. Then he (the experimenter) proceeded to put the EEG gap on my head.
I was expecting the EEG gap we use in our lab currently, which is basically a flexible net with nodes on it. Then we pipe a solution under the nodees to increase its conductivity of the kids' brain waves. What I got was the EEG caps they used to use in the lab, which I had seen hanging out (literally) in the lab but never seen used. Now I know why.
This one is also a net, but it's a solid net with the nodes build into the cap. So you can't stick a pipette under the net to squeeze any solution under the nodes. However, there are holes in the nodes and the experimenter explained he'd be using a dull needle to put a gel into the nodes to increase connectivity. And it would take about an hour and a half to do.
While he was doing this, I got to watch TV on Hulu, which was pretty cool (My choices were 30 Rock, The Office and Parks & Recreation) For most of that 1hr and 30mins, I was fairly comfortable. The experimenter basically just stuck the dull needle into the node-holes and screwed it in a little bit. Nothing to worry about. But then apparently 3 of the nodes weren't dropping under the treshhold they had set (in the CDL we do it around 50, but this lab keeps in between 10-15, except I found out this experimenter had dropped it to 5... nice)
So he and another experimenter spent about 30 minutes literally screwing the needle into my head to get the nodes to connect better. It was then that I started to notice the pressure that was putting on my head. And after 10 minutes of solid screwing motion, it really started to hurt... The needle cut my scalp at the node right on the front of my hairline and also the one on my temple (that one hurt the most; my temple is a delicate place, guys).
Anyway, after that I was ready to start the study. I was told I'd get a break every 15 minutes so I figured it would be like how they have it at the CDL - there'd be a break automatically built in the program. So I sat there, starting at the black sentences on an white screen, on a white apple computer, on a white desk before a white wall in a white cubical. Needless to say, my butt and my eyes were not happy. The thing about EEGs is you need to stay really still since the brain wave readings are affected by even the slightest movements, even blinking. And I know they expected me to move some, but I wanted to be a nice little participant and stay as still as I could.
After about 15 minutes, I asked for a break before starting the second block. It was then that I realized that the breaks weren't built into the program; it was up to the discression of the experimenter to stop it and he was supposed to tell me every 15 minutes to take a break. But he was new so he wasn't. I had a watch and I was timing the task. So after maybe 20-30 minutes, I asked for another break. Because my eyes were completely dry and my back was killing me. The experimeter told me I'd have about another 30 minutes, so I sucked it up and got back to work, hoping to plow through the last couple. Except it lasted for only about 3 minutes, since I had plowed through them already during my second go. I REALLY wanted to stop looking at that screen.
So he took the EEG cap off, I washed my hair in the sink since it was full of gel and then I went to my psychology class at 1pm. Sweet. $30 for minimal effort and a little discomfort. Now I can cross 'participate in an EEG study' off my list of things to do before I die.
Labels: scientific things
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