Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Book

Electroencephalogram

Appaji Rayi  1 , Najib I. Murr  2
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
Affiliations
Free Books & Documents
Book

Electroencephalogram

Appaji Rayi et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

An electroencephalogram (EEG) is an essential tool that studies the brain's electrical activity. Despite developing more advanced imaging techniques, EEG remains the essential paraclinical tool for seizure evaluation. It is primarily used to assess seizures and conditions that may mimic seizures. It is also useful to classify seizure types, assess comatose patients in the intensive care unit, and evaluate encephalopathies, among other indications. The electrical properties of the brain were first discovered by an English scientist, Richard Caton, in 1875, and about 50 years later, the German psychiatrist Hans Berger recorded the first human EEG.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Appaji Rayi declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Najib Murr declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

    1. Haas LF. Hans Berger (1873-1941), Richard Caton (1842-1926), and electroencephalography. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2003 Jan;74(1):9. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Tudor M, Tudor L, Tudor KI. [Hans Berger (1873-1941)--the history of electroencephalography]. Acta Med Croatica. 2005;59(4):307-13. - PubMed
    1. COOPER R, WINTER AL, CROW HJ, WALTER WG. COMPARISON OF SUBCORTICAL, CORTICAL AND SCALP ACTIVITY USING CHRONICALLY INDWELLING ELECTRODES IN MAN. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1965 Feb;18:217-28. - PubMed
    1. DeFelipe J, Fariñas I. The pyramidal neuron of the cerebral cortex: morphological and chemical characteristics of the synaptic inputs. Prog Neurobiol. 1992 Dec;39(6):563-607. - PubMed
    1. Biasiucci A, Franceschiello B, Murray MM. Electroencephalography. Curr Biol. 2019 Feb 04;29(3):R80-R85. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources