THE ELECTRO-ENCEPHALOGRAM IN EPILEPSY AND IN CONDITIONS OF IMPAIRED CONSCIOUSNESS

TLDR

The electro‑encephalogram records brain electrical disturbances, analogous to the ECG, and Berger’s 1929 study first established their cerebral origin, frequency‑amplitude classification, and conditions of appearance, with subsequent work by Adrian, Foerster, and others expanding the field. The authors were motivated by Berger’s work and the potential of electrical amplifiers and oscillographs to record brain activity, prompting investigation into electroencephalography in epilepsy and impaired consciousness. Berger demonstrated that electroencephalographic potentials originate in the brain, can be classified by frequency and amplitude, appear and disappear under specific conditions, and can be recorded noninvasively from the intact skull of conscious subjects.

Abstract

The electro-encephalogram is the graphic record of electrical disturbances arising in the brain. This record is analogous to the electrocardiogram, which is the record of the electrical action current associated with the contraction of the heart. The first systematic study of electro-encephalograms of human beings was carried out by Berger in the years following 1929.¹He established the cerebral origin of these electrical potentials, classified them according to frequency and amplitude and determined the conditions of their appearance and disappearance. He showed further that it was possible to record these phenomena from the intact skull of the conscious human subject. Adrian²also investigated these cortical potentials in both man and animals, and numerous other investigators, including Foerster and Altenburger,³have added significant contributions. Our interest in the subject was aroused by the work of Berger and by the realization that in our electrical amplifiers and oscillographs we