2025-10-02 –, Jean-Baptiste Say Amphitheater
Language: English
The Unfold family is a set of time-series analysis, visualization, and simulation toolboxes built around the regression ERP (rERP) framework for EEG analysis. That is, the application of multiple regression models to time series data. While all packages have a focus on EEG data, they can typically be easily applied to pupil dilation, skin conductance, or even fMRI data.
The Unfold family consists of seven packages: Unfold.jl, UnfoldMixedModels.jl, UnfoldMakie.jl, UnfoldSim.jl, UnfoldBIDS.jl, UnfoldDecode.jl and UnfoldStats.jl, together offering a very broad set of EEG analysis use cases.
We can use these tools to analyze complex experimental designs, especially in naturalistic settings. There we often struggle with (non-)linear confounds and temporal overlapping brain responses (see Dimigen & Ehinger 2021). Analyzing such data proofs challenges on all levels, which we try to address with dedicated packages: The main analysis packages are Unfold.jl for rERP, and UnfoldMixedModels.jl to extend the analyses to linear mixed models. Method-validity can be tested using simulations (UnfoldSim.jl), complex data can be explored and visualized (UnfoldMakie.jl), insights can be gained via statistics (UnfoldStats.jl). To make all steps easily reproducible, we offer UnfoldBids.jl, a pipeline-solution based on the "Brain Imaging Data Structure" standard. Finally, UnfoldDecode.jl offers a set of experimental procedures to apply more machine-learning approaches to such data, decoding brain states or conditions.
All packages are tested and well documented, and offer plenty of tutorials for beginners accessible via the UnfoldDocs website.
In the talk I will present some highlights of my research in that field over the last 10 years. I'll present some exemplary results we performed using our Unfold-Family. And, if time permits, I can share some lessons learned when developing in a diverse field of non-computerscientists, and translating a toolbox from matlab to Julia.
Assistant Professor for Computational Cognitive Science
University of Stuttgart