5 Things To Know About Electroencephalograph (EEG)

1. What is an Electroencephalograph (EEG)?

An EEG is a test that helps to detect abnormalities in our brain waves. Small metal discs (called electrodes) will use to attaches our scalp and records the activity and electrical signals of our brain.

2. How does it work?

During the procedure, the electrodes will detect tiny electrical charges that result from the activity of our brain cells. Our brain cells are constantly communicates with each other through electrical impulses. Even when we are asleep, they still communicate with each other.

When the recording picks up the reading, the charges are amplified. It will display as a waveforms on the computer screen, or as a recording that may be printed out on paper.

3. What can it do?

The EEG can used to evaluate several types of brain disorders. In the event when epilepsy is present, seizure activity will appear as rapid spiking waves on the EEG reading.

Some people with lesions of their brain, which can result from tumors or stroke, may have unusually slow EEG waves, depending on the size and the location of the lesion.

The test can also be uses to diagnose other disorder that influences the brain activity. Such as Alzheimer’s disease, certain psychoses, and a sleep disorder called narcolepsy.

4. What is Polysomnograghy (PSG) / Sleep Study

Polysomnography is also known as sleep study and it is use to diagnose sleep disorder. It records our brain wave activities, the oxygen contain level in our blood, heartbeat rate and breathing pace, as well as our eyes and legs movement during the study.

Sleep study test is usually done in the sleep disorders unit inside a hospital or a sleep center. The test will records our night time sleep patterns, however it is occasionally done during the day for shift workers who habitually sleeps during the day.

Polysomnography test will monitors our sleeping stages and cycles to identify if our sleep patterns are disrupts and why it happens.

5. Event-Related Potential (ERP)

In 1942, Mr. Hans Berger discovered that the human brain’s electrical activity can be measures by placing electrodes on the scalp. He also observed the voltage can be influence by various type of stimulation, whether be sense, vision or even audio. Event-related potentials (ERPs) offers a more advanced method of extracting more specific signal’s reading by using simple averaging techniques.

Differs from EEG, ERP will purposely presents a stimulant whether a video graphic or audio signal to stimulate the brain activities for recording purposes. However the brain responds to thousands of reading simultaneously. Thus the experiments must be conducts many times and to averages out the result together. Leaving the filtered relevant waveform to remains for the reading.