Over the rainbow: Guidelines for meaningful use of colour maps in neurophysiology
Patrick S. Cooper,
Sylvain Baillet,
Rana El Khoury Maroun,
Trevor T-J. Chong
Affiliations
Patrick S. Cooper
Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia; Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Australia; Corresponding author.
Sylvain Baillet
Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Québec H3A 2B4, Canada
Rana El Khoury Maroun
Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Québec H3A 2B4, Canada
Trevor T-J. Chong
Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Victoria 3800, Australia; Department of Neurology, Alfred Health, Melbourne, Victoria 3004, Australia; Department of Clinical Neurosciences, St Vincent's Hospital, Victoria 3065, Australia
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.
