Electroencephalogram

(EEG): Measuring Brain

Waves
Function of EEG
 The EEG uses highly conductive silver electrodes coated with
silver-chloride and gold cup electrodes to obtain accurate
measures… use impedance device to measure effectiveness,
resistance caused by dura mater, cerebrospinal fluid, and skull
bone
 Monopolar Technique : the use of one active recording electrode
placed on area of interest, a reference electrode in an inactive
area, and a ground
 Bipolar Technique : the use of two active electrodes on areas of
interest
 Measures brain waves (graphs voltage over time) through
electrodes by using the summation of many action potentials sent
by neurons in brain. Measured amplitudes are lessened with
electrodes on surface of skin compared to electrocorticogram
Sodium-Potassium Pump
 The mechanism within neurons that creates action
potentials through the exchange between sodium and
potassium ions in and out of the cell
 Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) provides energy for
proteins to pump 300 sodium ions per second out of
the cell while simultaneously pumping 200 potassium
ions per second into the cell (concentration gradient)
 Thus making the outside of the cell more positively
charged and the neuron negatively charged
 This rapid ionic movement causes the release of action
potentials
History
 Richard Caton (1875) –localization of sensory functions with
monkeys and rabbits
 Hans Berger (1924) – first EEG recording done on humans
- described alpha wave rhythm and its suppression compared to beta
waves
 - acknowledged “alpha blockade” when subject opens eyes

 William Grey Walter – influenced by Pavlov and Berger, further

developed EEG to discover delta waves during sleep (1937) and
theta waves (1953)
Alpha Wave
 Characteristics:
- frequency: 8-13 Hz
-amplitude: 20-60 µV
 Easily produced when quietly sitting in relaxed position with eyes
closed (few people have trouble producing alpha waves)
 Alpha blockade occurs with mental activity
-exceptions found by Shaw(1996) in the case of mental arithmetic,
archery, and golf putting
Beta Waves
 Characteristics:
-frequency: 14-30 Hz
-amplitude: 2-20 µV
 The most common form of brain waves. Are present during mental
thought and activity
Theta Waves
 Characteristics:
-frequency: 4-7Hz
-amplitude: 20-100µV
 Believed to be more common in children than adults
 Walter Study (1952) found these waves to be related to
displeasure, pleasure, and drowsiness
 Maulsby (1971) found theta waves with amplitudes of 100µV in
babies feeding
Delta Waves
 Characteristics:
-frequency: .5-3.5 Hz
-amplitude: 20-200µV
 Found during periods of deep sleep in most people
 Characterized by very irregular and slow wave patterns
 Also useful in detecting tumors and abnormal brain behaviors
Gamma Waves
 Characteristics:
-frequency: 36-44Hz
-amplitude: 3-5µV
 Occur with sudden sensory stimuli
Less Common Waves
 Kappa Waves:
-frequency: 10Hz
-occurred in 30% of subjects while thinking in Kennedy
et al.(1948)
 Lambda Waves:
-amplitude: 20-50µV
-last 250 msec, related to response of shifting visual
image
-triangular in shape
 Mu Waves:
-frequency: 8-13Hz
-sharp peeks with rounded negative portions (7% of
population)
Alternative Neuroimaging
Techniques
 Positron Emission Technique (PET):
- picture image of brain giving information about glucose and
oxygen structures in the brain, blood flow, and blood volume in the
brain
-advantage: compare cross-sections of brain regions
simultaneously
-disadvantage: findings may be caused by inhibitory neurons
 Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (ғMRI):
-picture image of anatomical structures, derived from magnetic
imaging
-allows for measurement of blood oxygen concentration, blood
flow, and blood volume
-advantage: see ongoing changes as well as strong spatial
resolution, and quick/effective data collection
Alternative Methods (cont)
 Biomagnetism:
-Measures magnetic activity given off by the brain
-Super conductive quantum interfering device (SQUID)
-disadvantage: very difficult to pick up these small magnetic
measures due to environmental magnetic forces
 Magnetoencephalogram (MEG):
-similar to EEG in that it combines the activities of millions of
neurons
-advantages: no reference electrode, some currents can only be
found magnetically, scans field patterns of brain allowing for
simultaneous area activity
-disadvantage: data not as clear and device is very susceptible to
noise
The EEG and its Many
Applications
 Research and Application
 Psychological Research
 Neurological Research
 Medical Research
 Educational Research and Application
 Therapeutic Application
 Occupational Application
 How Effective is the EEG?
 A great deal of controversy has surrounded the use of
EEG in tests for such topics as Intelligence and mental
performance.
 Criticism, however, is familiar to any aspect of research
in the scientific world.
 As a result of the critiques and of technological
advances, procedures, measurements, and results have
become more precise, reliable, and valid.
 In order to the best and most accurate information from
EEGs, though, researchers agree that further
investigation and ongoing research is necessary.
 The EEG has become a widely used and
successful research tool
 It is a practical candidate that offers valid
measurement
 It contributes objective information that can be
easily viewed and measured
 It is a versatile system that allows for a diverse
application of the information it provides
 Hemispheric Asymmetries & Hemispheric
Lateralization/ Specialization

 Desynchronization
 “Right and Left Brain” Characteristics
 Right Brain:
 Spatial processing
 Musical tasks

 Left Brain:
 Verbal processing
 Mathematical skills

** Emotions have also been correlated with differential

hemispheric processing (Davidson, Schwartz, Saron, Bennett
and Goleman, 1979)

(Andreassi, John L., Psychophysiology: Human Behavior and Physiological Response, 2000).
 Stimulus Complexity
 An investigation was conducted by Berlyne and
McDonnel (1965) in order to study the effects of
the complexity of the stimulus/stimuli on the
EEG alpha wave. Their hypothesis was
confirmed as a result of EEG records that
demonstrated that higher levels of complexity
produced longer alpha desynchronization
periods.
(Andreassi, John L., Psychophysiology: Human Behavior and Physiological Response, 2000).
 Tasks of Vigilance and Attention
 In order to study attention ability Ray and Cole
(1985) investigated participants’ “intake” and
“rejection” of stimuli.
– The results showed that alpha power was greater in
the right hemisphere during “rejection.”
 Beatty, Greenberg, Deibler, and O’Hanlon (1974)
found that EEG readings demonstrated that
suppression of theta activity and rhythm helped
to better maintain vigilance while performing
tasks.
(Andreassi, John L., Psychophysiology: Human Behavior and Physiological Response, 2000).
Hypnosis, Imagery, Meditation and
Perception
Traditionally, the lines between the four greatly
related mind states were not very clear. Research
conducted with the use of EEG, however, has enabled
researchers to draw more distinct lines between each of
the topics, and to study the distinct characteristics of each
of them.
 Hypnosis
 EEG during hypnosis has contributed to the knowledge that it is
not a stage of deep sleep, rather a “modification of the waking
state”

 MacLeod, Morgan and Lack (1982) conducted a dream task study

during hypnosis using EEG.
– The results demonstrated a shift “from greater left hemisphere
activity, to right” in “highly hypnotizable” participants, and no such
shift in “low hypnotizable” participants.

 A related study conducted by DePascalis and Perrone (1996)

revealed that participant pain ratings decreased when an
analgesic state was suggested during hypnosis
– The EEG records showed a decrease in EEG amplitude in the right
hemisphere during the above mentioned condition.

(Andreassi, John L., Psychophysiology: Human Behavior and Physiological Response, 2000).
 Imagery
 Gale, Morris, Lucas and Richardson conducted a study
in 1972 in which imagery was measured on a “vividness”
scale, while the occipital area was recorded using EEG.
– The results of the EEG showed a definite decrease in Alpha
activity during all but one of the imagery tasks.

 Williamson and Kaufman (1989) later integrated the

Magnetoencephalograpy (MEG) “to study suppression of
alpha activity in the visual cortex during mental imagery.”
(Andreassi, John L., Psychophysiology: Human Behavior and Physiological Response, 2000).
 Meditation
 Results from a study conducted by Elson, Hauri,
and Cunis (1977) were collected and based on
EEG information.
– The EEG readings from the meditating group
demonstrated stable alpha and theta activity, and
none fell asleep.
– The EEG records from the non-meditating group, on
the other hand, revealed K-complexes and sleep
spindles. A total of six of the participants from the
group fell asleep.
(Andreassi, John L., Psychophysiology: Human Behavior and Physiological Response, 2000).
 Sensation, Perception and EEG
 Studies have indicated that our perception
and sensations may have substantial
effects on mood and emotional states.
 EEG records showed that sound sensitivity was lower
during periods of alpha activity than during non-alpha
activity.
 In 1998 Martin evaluated previous information about
the effect of odor on EEG and mood, conducting two of
his own studies, and was able to report a variety of
effects.
– He believed that previous investigations produced different
results due to a difference in EEG recording.
– The results of his own carefully controlled experiments
supported a correlation between odor and EEG activity.
**Real food odors, such as chocolate, were linked to
extremely low theta levels and received the highest participant
ratings for relaxing effects and pleasantness…revealing the
capability of odors to change EEG activity.

(Andreassi, John L., Psychophysiology: Human Behavior and Physiological Response, 2000).
 The Awesome EEG
 It is plain to see that EEG has offered a number
of great advances in research. It has
demonstrated its versatility and usefulness in the
many diverse areas that it has been utilized.
From therapeutic endeavors, and enhancing
educational efforts, to offering information and
insight that has helped to improve pilots’,
conductors’, and drivers’ vigilance performance,
as well as strengthening the base of general
knowledge in a way that has helped to improve
our everyday lives .
Conditioning of The EEG
&
Sleep and The EEG
Conditioning of the EEG
Classical Conditioning (EEG):

 Pairing of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli to warrant a

conditioned response.
 EEG recordings found changes in neural activity with the presence of CS
(Condition stimulus).

 In EEG experiments that involve conditioning:

-alpha blocking occurs with respect to the CS after many pairing
of a CS and US.
-The UR (unconditioned response) is a natural alpha
blocking process.
-Classical conditioning Is usually done with the participant being
asleep.
 CS  US  UR }Natural alpha blocking , the CS alone cannot
(light) (tone) (no response) sustain alpha blocking

after several pairings…

CS  US  UR
(light) (tone)
CS  US  UR }Trying to sustain CS alpha blocking W/
(light) (tone) multiple pairings of US.
CS  US  UR
(light) (tone)

finally…

US  CR } The US has now been shaped to create the CS.

CS  CR } The new CS creates the same CR as the previous
CS. The new CS can now generate alpha blocking on its own.
 Operant Conditioning (EEG)
Can it be done?
 Done while participant is awake.
 Studies include work with people suffering from seizures (epileptics),
and their progress.
 Studies w/ operant conditioning shows results of other disorders being
alleviated (biofeedback). I.E. Migraines
 Studies are being done to see if people can control which brain waves
they can produce (alpha and theta) with the onset of a signal or tone.
 Most people could not produce alpha and theta waves on command
w/o the signal or tone being given
 Researches tried to alter mood with alpha waves as well.
 All in all, operant conditioning of EEG has been deemed possible
Non-contingent stimuli (operant conditioning):
 Expectancy effects:
- “Subjects who were led to believe that they enhanced
alpha were actually able to control alpha better than
those who believed they suppressed alpha.”

 Biasing effects:
- “Experimenters’ expectations were found to influence EEG alpha
measures in the direction of the expectation.”

 Controls:
- Controls are effective and necessary in non-contingent stimulation studies in
operant conditioning studies.
A. increase in alpha could be due to randomness or non-contingent
stimuli.
Sleep and The EEG
Sleep and EEG:

 Sleep studies are very hard to conduct.

- Takes many nights to conduct a full study
- Patience is a must both participants and experimenters

 Benefits of sleep studies:

- Better understanding in studies involving
A. Human performance
B. Behavior
C. Well-Being
Sleep and EEG cont’d:
 Sleep studies began in the 1800’s
 1930’s EEG recording machines began to make an appearance.

 Today’s sleep laboratories have many different kinds of physiological

machines and recorders such as:
 EEG
 EOG (electroculogram)
 EMG (electromyogram)
 Rectal temperature
 Respiration
(Any measurements made by these machines are called- Polysomnograms)
Sleep and EEG cont’d:
 Different stages of sleep and their respective brain waves:
 Stage 1: Low voltage random EEG activity (2-7 Hz)
 Stage 2: Irregular EEG pattern/negative-positive spikes (12- to 14- Hz)
• Also characterized with sleep spindle and K-complexes that could occur every few seconds.
 Stage 3: Alternative fast activity, low/high voltage waves and high
amplitude delta waves or slow waves (2 Hz or less).
 Stage 4: Delta waves
 Stage REM (Rapid eye Movement): “episodic rapid eye movements,” low v
voltage activity.
 Stage NREM: All stage combined, but not including REM or stages that may contain
REM.

 The K-complex occurs randomly in stage 2 and stage 3

 The K complex is like an awaken state of mind in that is associated with a response
to a stimulus that one would experience while awake.
EEG and Dreaming:

 REM was discovered in 1953 by Aserinsky and Kleitman.

 REM was observed as fast eye movements that moved in many
directions while a person was asleep.
 REM varied in amplitude and lasted 1 second or less.
 Studies showed that people remember dreams 75% (60-90%) more
when waken during REM sleep, If not woken during REM sleep dreams
are only remembered 7% of the time.
 NREM dreams are described as being less active and less vivid
 Therefore, there are both qualitative and quantitative differences when
discussing REM and NREM sleep.
Dream Studies:

 The first dream studies were interested in:

 Changing dream content
 Drugs and their effects on dreaming
 Pre-sleep stimulation and dreaming
 Dream content with respect to patients that had different
psychiatric disorders
REM Dreaming:
 Most early research was concerned with lucidity of REM Dreaming.
 Meaning one could shape what they dreamed in choosing what they would
dream about.
 Come to the realization that one is dreaming
 High amplitude EEG alpha waves.
 Higher in the beginning of REM, and lower in end of REM.
 Higher amplitude waves are also characterized of “bizarre,” and emotional
dreams.
 Ongoing lucid studies are being conducted to see if lucid content come
from prelucid dreaming.
 Questions the relationship between REM alpha waves and Lucidity
Deep sleep and Responsiveness:

 Light sleep (stages 1&2)

 Deep sleep (stages 3&4)
 Sleep is cyclical
 Meaning that one will usually go from light sleep to deep
sleep back to light sleep again.
 The whole cycle take about 1 and ½ hours (90 min.)
 Stage 3 and 4 are hard to obtain, due to light sleep occurring
more towards the end of a sleep cycle.
EEG brain waves in the Sleep Cycle:
 Sounds and sleep:

 Studies found it was more difficult to wake up a person during latter

stages of sleep, even with very loud sounds.
 Fire alarm study:
 Researchers looked at how long it would take for someone in a
certain stage of sleep to turn off the aversive stimulus (Alarm).
 They found People in stage 1 sleep were more likely to turn off
the aversive stimulus quicker than all other stages.
 Researchers also found that meaningful stimuli awakened
people quicker than non-meaningful stimuli.
Work and Exercise and how it effects sleep
EEG: (Kripke, Cook, and Lewis 1976
)

Work (hospital employees):

- Hospital employees experience a reversal in the sleep-wakefulness
cycle (biological effects).
- Duration of each stage of sleep was usually shorter.
- Stage 1 sleep in hospital employees was generally longer than typical
stage 1 sleep in normal sleepers.

Work (night shift- permanent):

- Have better body temperature regulation, and more stable sleep
patterns.
Work schedule and sleep cont’d:

 Hospital workers actually fall asleep if put on a rotating schedule

(10pm – 6am)
 Sleep during daytime hours takes longer, than nighttime hours.
 Daytime sleepers (permanent night shift workers) have reduced
REM sleep.
Exercise and Sleep EEG: Horne and porter (1975)
 There are differences between afternoon and morning exercise.
 Exercise conditions do not help one to fall asleep easier.
 Relaxation techniques help people to fall asleep easier (Brownman and Tepas,
1976).
 Afternoon exercises produce increased slow-wave sleep/stages 3 and 4.
(85 minutes bike ride)
 Same amount of exercise in morning had no effects.
 Stages 3 and 4 are known and “restore and repair” stages.
• However, people that exercise do not experience longer durations
of sleep in stages 3 and 4 or SWS (Brownman and Tepas, 1976).
• Bunnel, Bevier, and Horvath found that exercising to the point of
exhaustion increased slow-wave sleep, but decreased REM.
 Therefore daytime activity can increase stage 3 and 4
sleep/SWS as long as it is intense in duration.
Sleep Deprivation:

Three different kinds: (Naitoh, 1975)

 Total sleep deprivation
 missing one or more sleep periods
 Partial sleep Deprivation
 missing a section of the sleep cycle
 Differential Sleep Deprivation
 Wakening a person during different random points in a sleep cycle based on
EEG signs of particular stage
Total Sleep Deprivation: (Woodward and Nelson, 1974)

 Studied army men who experienced 2 sleep cycles lost

 Effects:
 Memory impairment (short term memory)
 Increased irritableness
 Attention deficits (micro lapses)
 Lack of motivation
 EEG showed an increase in slow wave sleep in recovery
Partial Sleep Deprivation: (Webb & Agnew, 1974)
 Done over a 60 day periods consisting of 5 ½ hours of sleep each
night.
 Experienced an increase in Stage 2 and 4 sleep.
 REM decreased by 25%
 Vigilance decreased as experiment progressed.

 Conclusion for partial sleep deprivation:

 6 hours is needed to be vigilant
 Major behavioral differences will occur (see above)
Differential Sleep Deprivation: (Moses, Johnson, Naitoh
and Lubin, 1975)

 One study looked at deprivation of REM/Stage 4 sleep deprivation and

total REM sleep deprivation.

 REM/Stage 4 study -2 nights vs. Total REM sleep -3 nights:

 Needed more arousals than second experiment to keep them from entering
stage 4 sleep.
 Concluded that Stage 4 has more importance than REM sleep due to sleep
loss.
Sleep onset, difficulties with EEG wave
location, experimental difficulties:
 Alpha waves vary person to person, makes it hard to locate in stage 1
sleep
 K-complexes and sleep spindles are giveaways of a person being
“asleep”
 People don’t respond to certain tones during certain stages of sleep.
 People might not hear the tone (hearing impaired)- Hearing tests should
be down to rule out this confounding variable.
 People that have insomnia (elderly men and women)/misperception etc.
 Insomnia causes SWS abnormalities
 Researchers would like a behavioral measure as an additional indicator
of a person being asleep, but none exists.
 An ideal machine would measure finger muscle depression
Sleep onset, difficulties with EEG wave
location, experimental difficulties cont’d:

 EEG and thermoregulartory system patterns;

 Shows that drop in rectal temperature, signifies SWS is
sustained.
 More studies must be done to confirm this.
Summary of EEG:
 Conditioning exercises prove that Alpha wave control may be possible.
 Discovery of REM made it possible for further investigations into sleep
studies and various parts of sleep.
 The strength of a stimulus has an impact on the outcome of a study.
 Learning may occur during stage 1 & 2 of sleep when material is
meaningful
 Dreams vary in content and emotions
 Daytime sleep differs from nighttime sleep on a number of levels
 Confounding variables are important in eliminating before conduction
an EEG study.
 Selective deprivation vs. Insomnia
 Biological effects on sleep
References:
 Andreassi, J. L. (2000). Psychophysiology: Human Behavior &
Physiological Response (4th ed.) Mahwah, New Jersey:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, publishers.

 Sleep Holsitconline.com. (1998-1999). The different stages of sleep

[Chart]. World Wide Web. Retrieved September 10th, 2006, from
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4NREM.htm

 (1996, October 11). The Electro-Physiology Of Sleep. Retrieved

September 9th, 2006, from
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ge31.html
References cont’d:
 Cell Biology. (2005, January 11). Cell Biology. Retrieved September
9th, 2006, from http://www.nurseminerva.co.uk/cell.html

 Wikipedia. (2006, September 9). Electroencephalography [Chart].

World Wide Web. Retrieved September 8th, 2006, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electroencephalogram

 Wikipedia. (2006, September 10). Hans Berger. World Wide Web.

Retrieved September 9, 2006, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_berger