See You Never: Exclusion in Electroencephalography and Neurotechnology

Electroencephalography (EEG), a neuroscience method which requires sustained access to the scalp and hair, has many clinical and research applications. It is an essential feature of the rapidly growing consumer neurotechnology market. Neuroethicists have criticized EEG for being unaccommodating to phenotypic differences in hair type - a flaw which contributes to the systematic exclusion of minority groups from research. This exclusion legitimizes concerns about the generalizability of EEG research and effectiveness of EEG-based technologies. The following report employs a review of the most current literature across neuroscience, ethics, and technology publication sources to demonstrate how exclusion EEG research creates gaps in theoretical knowledge that disproportionately impact minorities and have profound implications for medical and consumer products. This paper summarizes the many applications of EEG and examines the impact of exclusion on EEG-based research and technology development. It outlines the risks of maintaining exclusion and provides policy recommendations for how to mitigate those risks by prioritizing inclusion in research methods.