¥ Signal =
Measurable response to stimulus
¥ Noise =
Components of measurement that interfere with detection of
signal
¥ Statistical
detection theory:
H Understand relationship between stimulus
& signal
H Characterize noise statistically
H Can then devise methods to distinguish
noise-only measurements from
signal+noise measurements, and assess their
reliability
H Methods and usefulness depend strongly
on the assumptions
² Some methods are ÒrobustÓ against
erroneous assumptions, and some are
not