Over the rainbow: Guidelines for meaningful use of colour maps in neurophysiology

Visualization of complex data is commonplace in neurophysiology research. Here, we highlight specific perceptual issues related to the ongoing misuse of variations of the rainbow colour scheme, with a particular emphasis on time-frequency decompositions in electrophysiology as an illustrative exampl...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Patrick S. Cooper, Sylvain Baillet, Rana El Khoury Maroun, Trevor T-J. Chong
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2021-12-01
Series:NeuroImage
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811921009010
Description
Summary:Visualization of complex data is commonplace in neurophysiology research. Here, we highlight specific perceptual issues related to the ongoing misuse of variations of the rainbow colour scheme, with a particular emphasis on time-frequency decompositions in electrophysiology as an illustrative example. We review the risks of biased interpretation of neurophysiological data in this context, and provide guidelines to improve the use of colour maps to visualise complex, multidimensional data in neurophysiology research.
ISSN:1095-9572