EMG and EOG Artifacts

Basically, artifacts are noise sources that have overlaid onto the EEG and corrupted the purity of
the brainwave signal when they are present. This is where noise filtering electronics, special
materials and industrial design techniques are necessary to reduce noise influences. Two artifact
types deserve some special attention here. The first is known as an EMG (electromyogram)
artifact. The second is called an EOG (electrooculogram) artifact. In a nutshell, EMG is
essentially electrical noise generated by facial muscle activity near the electrode. EOG is
electrical noise generated by eye movement.

Some might consider EMG and EOG the evil cousins of EEG. They are always hanging around,
looking for trouble, and interfering with what the EEG is trying to do, which is to capture a clean
brainwave signal. EMG and EOG are read by the same electrode that captures EEG, and the
waves essentially collide with one another, creating a real mess. EMG and EOG are not always
present, but when they are, the EEG gets corrupted. So, what could possibly be good about EMG
and EOG?

When we blink, wink, look left, right, up or down, we produce EOG. When we tighten our
forehead or jaw, we create EMG. If an electrode is placed close enough to these noise sources,
they can be captured. These signals are much stronger than EEG (10-200 times as large) and are
not difficult to identify.