Quantitative EEG methods represent a cornerstone of basic and clinical research, effectively shaping a broad, diversified research agenda that addresses questions pertaining to anterior alpha asymmetries (e.g., Coan and Allen, 2004; Davidson, 1998), default mode network activation (e.g., Chen et al., 2008; Scheeringa et al., 2008), oscillatory band power and connectivity (e.g., Stam and van Straaten, 2012), working memory (e.g., Hsieh and Ranganath, 2014; Klimesch, 1999; Roux and Uhlhaas, 2014; Sauseng et al., 2005), or clinical treatment outcome (e.g., Pizzagalli et al., 2001; Tenke et al., 2011), to name just a few. A valid and reliable separation of EEG spectra is of critical importance for all of these questions, particularly if the primary interest concerns neighboring frequency bands, such as theta (4–8 Hz) and alpha (8–13 Hz). Figure 10 shows EEG amplitude spectra for a single individual performing an auditory working memory paradigm, which requires identifying the correct position of a probe letter within an initial letter series. While performing this task for trials spanning several seconds, both frontal midline theta and parietal alpha oscillations, which may subserve crucial functions
