Monday 12 November 2012

Kaiser QEEG


What is Quantitative EEG
David A. Kaiser, Ph.D.
Rochester Institute of Technology

What determines the characteristic rhythms of the EEG?
Moruzzi and Magoun (1949) were the first to shed light on the origin of EEG
rhythms. Working in cats they determined that stimulating the reticular formation of the brainstem aroused the animal behaviorally and any dispersed high-amplitude EEG rhythms at the cortex. This work eventually led to a general physiological model of rhythmic activity (Andersen & Andersson, 1968; Steriade et al. 1990). According to the model, isolated thalamocortical neurons fire rapidly at their own pace due to metabolic characteristics but in an intact brain, a sheath of cells known as the reticular thalamic nucleus (RTN) inhibits intrinsic or random firing of thalamocortical neurons and unites
individual discharges into simultaneous volleys. These volleys propagate to the cortex and synchronize pyramidal cell activity, whose synchronization can be detected at the scalp as high-amplitude oscillations (e.g., alpha bursts, sleep spindles). Corticothalamic feedback influences these volleys by inhibiting RTN's inhibitory action so that neuronal ensembles may break free of reticular thalamic influence and fire in response to specific processing demands. When this occurs, large slow waveforms (theta, alpha) are replaced
by faster frequencies of lower amplitude (beta, gamma), a process originally called alpha blocking and now called EEG desynchronization. Desynchronization may be localized to a single electrode as uncommitted cortical areas remain "idling" or synchronized, or it may involve several brain areas or electrodes (Pfurtscheller, 1992; Sterman et al. 1994). Regional patterns of simultaneous desynchronization and synchronization characterize
specific cognitive and behavioral states (Pfurtscheller & Klimesch, 1990) and it is bymeasuring the mix of slow and fast rhythms across the head that we identify the nature and extent of cortical engagement.

How is QEEG Related to Human Behavior?
EEG as a crude measure of mental state ( eg eyes open (attention, alert, aroused or eyes closed (inattention and inactivity) has been documented extensively and over a considerable period of time.

Behavioral and mental states such as mathematical processing, reading, or relaxed wakefulness are assumed to be distinct and uniform in nature, consisting of similar perceptual and cognitive operations whenever they occur. It is also assumed that distinct mental operations present distinct EEG and biochemical profiles which are reproduced reliably whenever a task or mental state occurs. These assumptions lay the foundation to functional MRI as well as EEG assessment and are the rationale for EEG normalization
training.

The most reliable finding in EEG research occurs when an individual
resting with eyes closed opens his or her eyes in a well-lit room: alpha blocking occurs. The alpha rhythm is replaced by fast low-amplitude waveforms, or beta rhythm. (When eyes are opened in a dark room, alpha blocking does not generally occur; Bohdanecky et al., 1984.) The degree and localization of blocking or desynchronization is associated with stimulus intensity, complexity, novelty, and meaningfulness (Gale & Edwards,1983; Berlyne & McDonnell, 1965; Baker & Franken, 1967; Boiten, Sergeant, & Geuze,1992; Gevins & Schaffer, 1980). Topographic analysis reveals whether EEGdesynchronization is nonspecific (many or all sites) or selective (few sites). Nonspecific arousal is modulated by drugs, drowsiness, drive, and time of day, whereas sensory and strategic demands activate specific brain areas such as parietal and occipital cortex to visual stimulation and temporal cortex to acoustic stimulation (e.g., Grillon & Buchsbaum, 1986; Pfurtscheller, Maresh, & Schuy, 1977; Chapotot, Jouny, Muzet,
Buguet, & Brandenberger, 2000).

Table 4. Cortical gyrus below each electrode position, based on Mokotoma et al

LOBE
GYRUS
BRODMANN AREA
SITE (left/right)
Frontal
Superior
10
Fp1/2

Inferior
47
F7/8

Medial
9
F3/4

Medial
8
Fz

Precentral
6
C3/4

Superior
6
Cz
Temporal
Medial
21
T3/4

Medial
37
T5/6
Parietal
Inferior
7
P3/4

Precuneus
7
Pz
Occipital
Medial
19
O1/2

Figure 3. International 10-20 system for electrode placement on the scalp.

Coherence and Co modulation
Coherence analysis
quantifies phase consistency between signals and comodulation analysis quantifies
magnitude consistency (Goodman, 1957; Kaiser, 1994). Two signals are said to be
coherent when their phase relationship is stable, even if signals are entirely out of phase
with each other. Two signals are said to comodulate when their magnitude relationship is
stable, regardless of absolute difference between signals.

Development before an adult rhythm at 10 Hz is established (Niedermeyer, 1987).
The alpha rhythm emerges as a slow 3-4 Hz rhythm in infancy, and it takes a decade

Table 5. Rhythm Maturation: Alpha & Sleep Spindle Frequency Range by Age Group
(modified from Niedermeyer, 1987)

Rhythm
Newborn
Infant
Toddler
Preschooler
Preteen
Alpha
Not present
4-6
5-8
7-9
9-10
Sleep spindle
Not present
12-14
12-14
12-14
12-14

 BooksPfurtscheller G, & Lopes da Silva FH. (1999). Event-related EEG/MEG synchronization and
desynchronization: basic principles. Clinical Neurophysiology, 110, 1842-57.

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Endnotes: