Attention & Detection

Visual Oddball Task

Detect infrequent target stimuli among standard stimuli to measure attention and the P300 brain response.

Estimated duration: 5–10 minutes

About This Experiment

The Visual Oddball Task is a foundational paradigm in EEG and cognitive neuroscience research. Participants view a sequence of visual stimuli where a frequent 'standard' stimulus is occasionally replaced by a rare 'target' stimulus. The task measures how quickly and accurately your brain detects unexpected changes, which is closely linked to the P300 event-related potential — a well-studied marker of attention and cognitive processing.

How It Works

  1. A stream of visual stimuli is presented on screen at a fixed interval.
  2. Most stimuli are 'standard' (e.g., a blue circle) and appear frequently.
  3. Occasional 'target' stimuli (e.g., a red circle) appear infrequently.
  4. You respond by pressing a button only when you see the target stimulus.

Key Metrics

Hit Rate

Percentage of target stimuli correctly identified

False Alarm Rate

Percentage of standard stimuli incorrectly responded to

P300 Amplitude

Strength of the brain's P300 response to target stimuli (with EEG)

Reaction Time

Speed of response to target stimuli

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