Michael McKay, Ira Fischler and Bruce Dunn. Cognitive Style and Recall of Text: An EEG analysis
    Cognitive processing style refers to an individual's characteristic approach to processing information.  One popular bipolar dimension is the contrast between  "analytic" and "holistic" styles.  Such style differences should be reflected in differences in underlying neural processes.  Recent studies (e.g., Dunn & Reddix, 1991; Glass & Riding, 1999) suggest that topographic patterns of EEG alpha activity (8-13 Hz) may reflect these differences.  EEG was collected at 19 sites during eyes-open baseline, and during reading and recall of short text passages.  Forty adults (20 males) were presented  passages of material ranging from highly structured expository text to minimally structured poetry.  Lower baseline alpha activity was significantly correlated with recall of the expository text across widely distributed sites, but did correlate with recall of poetry. The usefulness and limits of baseline EEG measures of cognitive style are discussed.