Eeg

Electroencephalography (EEG)
• Electroencephalography (EEG) is an electrophysiological monitoring method to record

electrical activity of the brain. It is typically noninvasive, with the electrodes placed along
the scalp, although invasive electrodes are sometimes used, as in electrocorticography,
sometimes called intracranial EEG.
• EEG measures voltage fluctuations resulting from ionic current within the neurons of
the brain
• German physiologist and psychiatrist Hans Berger (1873–1941) recorded the first human
EEG in 1924
Applications
• EEG is most often used to diagnose epilepsy, which causes abnormalities in
EEG readings.
• It is also used to diagnose sleep disorders, depth
of anaesthesia, coma, encephalopathies, and brain death.
• EEG used to be a first-line method of diagnosis for tumors, stroke and other
focal brain disorders, but this use has decreased with the advent of high-
resolution anatomical imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance
imaging (MRI) and computed tomography (CT).
• Despite limited spatial resolution, EEG continues to be a valuable tool for
research and diagnosis. It is one of the few mobile techniques available and
offers millisecond-range temporal resolution which is not possible with CT,
PET or MRI.
The 10–20 system or International 10–20 system is an internationally recognized method to describe and apply the location
of scalp electrodes in the context of an EEG recording
EEG Recording
• The ground reference electrode is often a metal clip on the earlobe.
• A suitable electrolyte paste or jelly is used in conjunction with the
electrodes to enhance coupling of the ionic potentials to the input of
the measuring device.
• To reduce interference and minimize the effect of electrode movement,
the resistance of the path through the scalp between electrodes must be
kept as low as possible.
• Generally, this resistance ranges from a few thousand ohms to nearly
100 kΩ depending on the type of electrodes
Brain Rhythms
• Any brain disorders are diagnosed by visual inspection of EEG signals. The clinical experts in the
field are familiar with manifestation of brain rhythms in the EEG signals. In healthy adults, the
amplitudes and frequencies of such signals change from one state of a human to another, such as
wakefulness and sleep. The characteristics of the waves also change with age.
• EEG potentials have random-appearing waveforms with peak-to-peak amplitudes ranging from
less than 10 µV to over 100 µV Required bandwidth for adequately handling the EEG signal is
from below 1 Hz to over 100 Hz.
• There are five major brain waves distinguished by their different frequency ranges. These
frequency bands from low to high frequencies respectively are called delta (δ), theta (θ), alpha (α),
beta (β) and gamma (γ).
• DTAB
Delta
• Refers to frequencies below 4 Hz.
• Delta activity, which is the slowest waveform, is normal when present
in adults during sleep.
• In normal elderly subjects, delta activity is sometimes seen in the
temporal regions during wakefulness, and in a generalized distribution,
maximal anteriorly, during drowsiness. It is usually abnormal under
other circumstances.
Theta
• Ranges from 4 Hz to less than 8 Hz.
• It is often present diffusely in children and young adults during
wakefulness, whereas in adults it occurs predominantly during
drowsiness.
• Like delta activity, theta activity may occur in the temporal regions in
normal elderly adults during wakefulness.
Alpha
• Ranges from 8 to 13 Hz.
• Alpha waves appear in the posterior half of the head and are usually
found over the occipital region of the brain.
• They can be detected in all parts of posterior lobes of the brain.
• Alpha waves have been thought to indicate both a relaxed awareness
without any attention or concentration.
Beta
• Above 13 Hz.
• This activity is usually most prominent anteriorly and is often
increased during drowsiness and in patients receiving sedating
medication, particularly barbiturates or benzodiazepines.
• Rhythmical beta activity is encountered mainly over the frontal and
central regions.
Gamma
• Correspond to the frequencies above 30 Hz (mainly up to 45 Hz,
sometimes called the fast beta wave).
• Although the amplitudes of these rhythms are very low and their
occurrence is rare, detection of these rhythms can be used for confirmation
of certain brain diseases.
• The regions of high EEG frequencies and highest levels of cerebral blood
flow (as well as oxygen and glucose uptake) are located in the frontocentral
area.
• The gamma wave band has also been proved to be a good indication of
event-related synchronization (ERS) of the brain and can be used to
demonstrate the locus for right and left index finger movement, right toes,
and the rather broad and bilateral area for tongue movement.
• Montages: A pattern of electrodes on the head and the channels they
are connected to is called a montage.
• Montages are always symmetrical.
• The reference electrode is generally placed on a nonactive site such
as the forehead or earlobe.
• EEG electrodes are arranged on the scalp according to a standard
known as the 10/20 system, adopted by the American EEG Society.
• Traditionally, there are 21 electrode locations in the 10/20 system
• EEG signals are transmitted from the electrodes to the head box,
which is labelled according to the 10–20 system, and then to the
montage selector.
• The montage selector on analog EEG machine is a large panel
containing switches that allow the user to select which electrode pair
will have signals subtracted from each other to create an array of
channels of output called a montage.
• Each channel is created in the form of the input from one electrode
minus the input from a second electrode
• Every channel has an individual, multistage, ac coupled, very sensitive amplifier
with differential input and adjustable gain in a wide range. Its frequency response
can be selected by single-stage passive filters.
• A calibrating signal is used for controlling and documenting the sensitivity of the
amplifier channels. This supplies a voltage step of adequate amplitude to the input
of the channels. A typical value of the calibration signal is 50 uV/cm.
• The preamplifier used in electroencephalographs must have high gain and low
noise characteristics because the EEG potentials are small in amplitude. In
addition, the amplifier must have very high common-mode rejection to minimise
stray interference signals from power lines and other electrical equipments.
• The amplifier must be free from drift so as to prevent the slow movement of the
recording pen from its centre position as a result of changes in temperature, etc
• EEG amplifiers must have high gain in the presence of unbalanced source
resistances and dc skin potentials at least up to 100 mV.
• Noise performance is crucial in EEG work because skin electrodes couple
brain waves of only a few microvolts to the amplifier. Each individual EEG
signal should be preferably amplified at the bedside. Therefore, a specially
designed connector box, which can be mounted near the patient, is
generally employed with EEG machines. This ensures the avoidance of
cable or switching artefacts.
• The use of electrode amplifiers at the site also eliminates undesirable
cross-talk effects of the individual electrode potentials. The connector box
also carries a circuit arrangement for measuring the skin contact
impedance of electrodes with ac. Thus, poor electrode-to-skin contacts
above a predetermined level can be easily spotted out
• Because of the low-level input signals, the electroencephalograph must have
high-quality differential amplifiers with good common-mode rejection.
• The differential preamplifier is generally followed by a power amplifier to drive
the pen mechanism for each channel.
• In nearly all clinical instruments, the amplifiers are ac-coupled with low-
frequency cutoff below 1 Hz and a bandwidth extending to somewhere between
50 and 100 Hz.
• Stable dc amplifiers can be used, but possible variations in the dc electrode

potentials are often bothersome. Most modern electroencephalographs in clude
adjustable upper- and lower-frequency limits to allow the operator to select a
bandwidth suitable for the conditions of the measurement.
• In addition, some instruments include a fixed 60-Hz rejection filter to reduce
powerline interference.
• To reduce the effect of electrode resistance changes, the input
impedance of the EEG amplifier should be as high as possible. For this
reason, most modem electroencephalographs have input impedances
greater than 10 MΩ
Evoked potentials
• A special form of electroencephalography is the recording of evoked
potentials from various parts of the nervous system.
• In this technique the EEG response to some form of sensory stimulus,
such as a flash of a light or an audible click, is measured.
• To distinguish the response to the stimulus from ongoing EEG activity,
the EEG signals are time-locked to the stimulus pulses and averaged,
so that the evoked response is reinforced with each presentation of
the stimulus, while any activity not synchronized to the stimulus is
averaged out.

Eeg

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Eeg

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Description:

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Eeg

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Electroencephalography (EEG)

• Electroencephalography (EEG) is an electrophysiological monitoring method to record

• Stable dc amplifiers can be used, but possible variations in the dc electrode

You might also like