Outdoor walking: Mobile EEG dataset from walking during oddball task and walking synchronization task

Abstract

This article describes a dataset from one standing and two outdoor walking tasks. Each task was performed by the same 18 participants twice, using foot accelerometers and two different EEG system configurations. The first task was a brief eyes open/eyes closed task. The second task was a six minute auditory oddball task performed in three conditions: Standing, walking alone and walking next to an experimenter. In the third task, the participants walked with the experimenter in three conditions: With their view of the experimenter blocked, walking naturally, and trying to synchronize their steps with the experimenter. During all walking conditions which included the experimenter, the experimenter walked following a headphone metronome to keep their steps consistent, also wearing a foot accelerometer. All tasks were performed twice on two separate days, using active electrode and passive electrode EEG configurations (Brain Products, GmbH). Data was used for Scanlon et al. (2021) and Scanlon et al. (2022), and could be used for learning about attention, walking mechanisms and social neuroscience. Scanlon, J. E., Jacobsen, N. S. J., Maack, M. C., & Debener, S. (2021). Does the electrode amplification style matter? A comparison of active and passive EEG system configurations during standing and walking. European Journal of Neuroscience, 54(12), 8381-8395. Scanlon, J. E. M., Jacobsen, N. S. J., Maack, M. C., & Debener, S. (2022). Stepping in time: Alpha-mu and beta oscillations during a walking synchronization task. NeuroImage, 253, 119099.

Keywords: Attention; Gait; Interpersonal synchronization; Mobile EEG; Social neuroscience; Walking.

Fig. 1

Task conditions and set-up. (a): Task 2 (from [5]): The conditions used during the oddball task (task 2; staged image): Standing with active electrodes, standing with passive electrodes, walking alone with active electrodes, walking alone with passive electrodes. The same standing area was used for the standing eyes open/eyes closed task (task 1). (b) Main setup components of the three walking conditions in task 3 (staged images; from [6]): walking with view of the experimenter blocked (left), walking naturally (middle), and walking while trying to synchronize steps with the experimenter (right). The natural condition also depicts an identical walking configuration to the walking together oddball condition in task 2.