Electroencephalography has been in the news due to the centenary year of the first human EEG, pioneered by German physiologist Hans Berger.Vladimir Pravdich-Neminsky achieved the first mammalian EEG in 1912 with a dog’s brain, followed by Hans Berger in 1924 with the first human EEG.
EEG
- EEG stands for electroencephalography. ‘Electro-’ pertains to electricity; ‘-encephalo-’ refers to the brain; and ‘-graphy’ is a suffix meaning to show or to represent.
- The EEG is a remarkable tool in physics and neurobiology, offering a straightforward glimpse into the human brain’s workings, without invasive procedures.
- An EEG setup is simple, cost-effective, non-invasive, portable, space-efficient, and doesn’t emit high-energy radiation or sounds, unlike MRI.
Working
- Volume conduction is the interference that happens between the source of an electrical potential and the electrode measuring that potential.
- It occurs when electrical potentials is measured at a distance from their source.
- Neurons in the brain constantly exchange ions with their surroundings, creating waves of electrical activity that electrodes on the scalp track to produce an electroencephalogram.
Applications
- It is the best test available to diagnose epilepsy (a neurological condition involving the brain that makes people more susceptible to having recurrent unprovoked seizures).
- An EEG test can also reveal the effects of anaesthesia, sleeping patterns, neurological activity during a coma, and availability of oxygen.
- EEG can also help confirm brain death.
- Also used for neuroscience, cognitive psychology, neurolinguistics, and neuromarketing studies and to develop brain-computer interfaces.
- Researchers have linked EEG data to various brain activities, distinguishing effectively between normal and abnormal states.