EEG (ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM)

AN INTRODUCTION

By: Muhammad Farooq

Supervisors: Dr. Aamir Saeed Malik
Dr. Mohd Zuki Bin Yousaff
OUTLINE
 Human Brain
 EEG generation

 10/20 system

 EEG rhythms

 Signal Conditioning

 Artifact

 EEG signal processing methods

EEG & ITS APPLICATIONS:
 EEG is spontaneous cortical electrical activity recorded
at the scalp.
 Applications
 Man Machine interfacing
 Rehabilitation
 Diagnosis
 Sleep disorder
 Diagnosis Epilepsy
BRAIN GEOGRAPHY
 Brain consists of four parst
 Cerebrum

 Cerebellum

 Pons

 Medulla Oblongata
CEREBRUM
 Divided into two hemispheres
 Lefthemisphere
 Right hemisphere

 Each hemisphere is divided into four lobes.

 Frontal Lobe
 Parietal Lobe
 Temporal Lobe
 Occipital Lobe
HOW BRAIN WORKS:
REST CONDITION
 Exchange of information is through
electrochemical process
 K+ can pass through the membrane
easily
 A- protein molecules, Na+, Cl- are
resisted
 Inside of Neuron is negative w.r.t the
outside
 potential difference between the inside
and outside of the neuron is
approximately -70 mV
THE ACTION POTENTIAL
 Depolarization &
Repolarization
BRAIN INTERFACING TECHNIQUES
 Invasive Brain Interface Technique
 Neural probe implantation
 Non-Invasive Brain Interfacing Technique
 Electroencephalogram (EEG)
 Magnetoencephalography (MEG)
 Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)
EEG MEASUREMENT
 EEG
acquisition
system

 Representati
ve
waveforms
EEG RECORDING TECHNIQUE
 Electrodes with conductive media
 Amplifiers with filters

 A/D converter

 Recording Device
SIGNAL CONDITIONING
 Raw EEG signals have amplitudes of the order of
microVolts and contains frequency components of upto
300Hz.
 This signal has to be amplified before the ADC and
filtered, either before or after the ADC.
 High pass filters of cutoff 0.5Hz are used to remove
disturbance such as breathing
 Notch filter of 50Hz to remove power supply.

 Low pass filter with cut off frequency of 50-70Hz.

 Sampling frequencies for EEG recording are 100, 250,

500, 1000 and 20000 samples/sec.
EEG MONTAGE:

 10/20 Electrode
Placement System
 Each electrode site is denoted by two
characters
 First character represents the lobe

 Second character identifies the

hemisphere location
 F- frontal lobe
 C- central lobe
 P- parietal lobe
 O- occipital lobe
 Temporal lobe
EEG MONTAGE
 Two types of recording
 Differential Mode
 Tow inputs to each differential amplifier are from two
electrodes.
 Referential Mode
 Inthis case one or two reference electrodes are used e.g.
Vertex (Cz), linked ear etc.
EEG WAVEFORMS
 EEG waveforms generally are classified according to
their frequency, amplitude, and shape, as well as the sites
on the scalp at which they are recorded.
 Information about waveform frequency and shape is
combined with the age of the patient, state of alertness or
sleep, and head site to determine significance.
 Most significant parameter is the frequency of the
waveform.
FREQUENCY IS CRITICAL…
 Frequency is the initial characteristic used to define
normal or abnormal EEG patterns
 Most waves of 7.5 Hz and higher frequencies are normal
findings in the EEG of an awake adult. Waves with a
frequency of 7 Hz or less often are classed as abnormal
in awake adults, although they normally can be seen in
children or in adults who are asleep.
 Location at which the waveform is gathered is important.
FREQUENCY RANGES:
 Alpha waves - 8-13 Hz
 Beta waves - Greater than 13 Hz (14-30Hz)
 Theta waves - 4-7 Hz
 Delta waves – 0.5-3.5 Hz
BETA WAVES
 Characteristics:
-frequency: 14-30 Hz
-amplitude: 2-20 µV
 Beta activity is ‘fast’ activity.

 Normal wave present in all age groups.

 Appear in the state of alertness

 Its presence is dominant in frontal and parietal lobes

ALPHA WAVE
 Characteristics:
- frequency: 8-13 Hz
-amplitude: 20-60 µV
 Present in all ages but mostly found in adults.

 Its presence is dominant in the occipital and parietal

lobes
 Appears in relaxation with eyes closed.

 Disappears in case of alertness.

 Regarded as normal wave

THETA WAVES
 Characteristics:
-frequency: 4-7Hz
-amplitude: 20-100µV
 Found in children and sleeping adults (drowsy state)

 In transition from awake state to sleepy state, alpha wave

occurrence will diminish and theta wave occurrence will
increase.
 Abnormal in awake adults

 Theta waves can occur briefly in emotional or

frustration.
DELTA WAVE
 Characteristics:
-frequency: .5-3.5 Hz
-amplitude: 20-200µV
 It tends to be the highest in amplitude and the slowest
waves.
 Observed in infants, children and adults

 Appear in deep sleep or unconscious

 Theta and delta waves are known collectively as slow

waves.
ARTIFACTS
 Tow types of artifacts
 1. Patient related
 Eye movement
 ECG
 Head movement
 Muscle
 Sweating
 2. System related
 50/60 Hz supply
 Impedance fluctuations
 Electric noise from the equipment etc.
FACTORS AFFECTING EEG
INTERPRETATION
 Age: maturation of EEG
 Arousal: refers to different sleep stages
 Medications
 Environment e.g. a.c. interference, ICU setting
 Quality of recording – aware of artifacts
EEG SIGNAL PROCESSING
 Fourier Transform
 Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT)

 Compress Spectral Analysis (CSA)

 Wavelet Transform

 EEG Brain Topography

 Spectral Coherence

 Independent Component Analysis

EVENT RELATED POTENTIALS (ERP)
 ERPs are small voltage fluctuations resulting from
evoked neural activity.
 Visual evoked potentials

 Auditory evoked potentials

 Somatosensory evoked potentials 

VISUAL EVOKED POTENTIALS
 VEP tests the function of the visual pathway from the
retina to the occipital cortex.
 VEP Measurement
 Pattern
e.g. Checkerboard
 Luminance e.g. flash
PATTERN REVERSAL VEP
FLASH VEP
REFERENCES:
 [1] Novák D, Lhotská L, Eck V, Sorf M. EEG and VEP
signal processing. Evoked Potentials
Electroencephalography And Clinical Neurophysiology.
 [2] Odom JV, Bach M, Barber C, et al. Visual evoked
potentials standard ( 2004 ) ∗. Documenta
Ophthalmologica. 2004:115-123.
 [3] Saeid Sanei, J.A. EEG Signal Processing, Centre for
Digital Signal Processing,Cardiff University, UK
 [4] Subha DP, Joseph PK, U RA, Lim CM. EEG Signal
Analysis : A Survey. Journal of Medical Systems.
2010:195-212.