Being able to locate the origin of electrical activity ("localization") is critical to being able to interpret the EEG tracings meaningfully. Localizing normal or abnormal brain waves in bipolar montages is usually accomplished by identifying "phase reversal," a deflection of the two channels within a chain pointing to opposite directions.

What is an EEG? An EEG is a scalp recording of brain wave activity. The brain wave activity recorded is a summation of the inhibitory and excitatory post synaptic potentials that occur across a neuron membrane. That’s all good but how the heck do I read an EEG!? First know what you are looking at on the screen. 1. Montages. 2. Sensitivity. 3 .

The organization of an EEG tracing refers, broadly, to how the waveforms appear across the entirety of the page, and includes continuity, symmetry, and the anterior posterior gradient. Continuity refers to the waveforms being uninterrupted by periods …

This chapter will teach you to read EEG: from normal findings to epileptiform discharges to associated clinical syndromes. You will also learn commonly tested EEG artifacts. Complete with real EEG tracing examples. Test your skills at the end with a practice quiz! Of note, medical students are not expected to know how to read EEG for exam purposes.

Here we'll review the basics of neural signals and how those are converted to the tracings you'll read on EEG. Neuronal membranes have a multitude of ion channels that maintain order and control signals in and around themselves.

Artifacts are common during the wakeful EEG, and one of the first hurdles of EEG interpretation is distinguishing these from cerebral signal. Most notable is the presence of low-amplitude, high-frequency activity arising from scalp muscles, often frontally dominant but seen throughout the …

Clinical interpretation of EEG recordings is most often performed by visual inspection of the tracing or quantitative EEG analysis. Voltage fluctuations measured by the EEG bioamplifier and electrodes allow the evaluation of normal brain activity.