1.

Record of spontaneous electrical activities

generated in the cerebral cortex
2. Picked up by electrodes placed on the scalp
3. Electrical activities reflect the current flow in the
extracellular spaces in brain
4. It is a summated effects of inhibitory and excitatory
synaptic potentials upon the cortical neurons
5. Cortical neuronal activities are under the influence of
thalamus and brain stem reticular formation
1. Electroencephalography is the procedure
of recording EEG

2. Electroencephalograph is the device that

records EEG

3. EEG is helpful in diagnosing abnormal

electrical discharges from brain as in
epilepsy and sleep disorders
1. Hans Burger (German psychiatrist) was the first to record
EEG
2. EEG leads:
1. Bipolar : record potentials between two leads
2. Unipolar: record potentials at a single lead against a
reference lead placed on ear, chin or nose.
3. EEG leads: .5 cm diameter; solder or silver-silver
chloride discs
4. 4 leads attached to scalp on standard locations on
each side ( total 8 leads)
5. Multichannel pen recorder records the activities
6. Record is analysed manualy or by computer
1. Frequency : 1-30 Hz (cycles per second (Hertz;
Hz is the short form)
2. Amplitude: 20-100 μV
3. Alert Individual: EEG consists of high frequency
and low amplitude waves with as many units
asynchronized
4. Sleep: low frequency and high amplitude and
synchronized
5. Absence of EEG waves: brain death
6. EEG wave patterns:
α, β, θ , & δ, waves according to frequency
1. Frequency: 8-13 Hz
2. Amplitude: 50-100 μV
3. Prominent in normal adult at rest with eyes closed (awake
and relaxed)
4. Mostly recorded over parieto-occipital region.
5. Alpha block:
1. Alpha rhythm disappears on opening eyes
2. On mental effort such as mental arythmemetic
3. Replaced by low voltage activity
4. Also called desynchronization or alerting response or
arousal response
1. Decreased by hypoglycemia, hypothermia,,
high arterial pressure and low levels of
glucocorticoids

2. Increased by high blood glucose, increased

body temperature,, low arterial pressure high
levels of glucocorticoids
1. Frequency: 13 to 30 Hz
2. Amplitude: 5 to 10 μV
3. Seen in adults when eyes are open
4. Waves appear in posterior regions of cortex
5. Sometimes seen in frontal region both when
eyes are open or closed
1. Frequency: 4 to 8 Hz
2. Large amplitude
3. Seen in normal children
4. Also occurs during moderate sleep
5. Sometimes seen in adults with severe
depression or disappointment
1. Frequency: 0.5 to 4 Hz

2. Amplitude: 20 to 200 μV

3. Occurs normally during sleep

4. Appearance in alert state in an adult imply

serious organic brain damage
1. Wide range of patterns
2. Awakened infant: fast beta rhythm
3. Childhood: theta rhythm
4. As child grows: faster alpha rhythm
5. Adolescents: adult type alpha rythm
6. Theta rhythm prominent in temporal or parietal
region
7. Alpha rhythm prominent in occipital region
1. EEG is the summated synaptic potentials generated in
the activated pyramidal cells
2. Pyramidal cells are oriented parallel to one another
3. Dentrites are oriented perpendicular to cortical surface
4. The potential change created at a point along dentrite is
called “sink”
5. The remainder of the dentrite serves as a passive current
“source”
6. The flow of current between sink and source is
rsponsible for the EEG wave
1. 1/3rd of our life is spent in sleep
2. Sleep is essential for growth and development of
body and mind
3. Sleep occurs due to periodic shut down of reticular
activating system (RAS) by brain stem and other
regions
4. Sleep consists of cycles of different stages with
specific EEG changes
5. Sleep is divided mainly into two phase:
1. Rapid eye movement (REM or paradoxical sleep
2. Non rapid eye movement (Non-REM or slow wave sleep)
1. EEG in sleep varies in cyclic patterns which
repeats every 90 minutes

2. 4 cycles of sleep in 6-7 hour with increasing

depth of sleep

3. Cycle starts with Non-REM sleep (deep) and

end with REM sleep (light)

4. REM sleep 25% of total period

1. Stage I:
1. Drowsiness
2. EEG changes from beta to alpha rhythm
3. Immediately light sleep begins and alpha rhythm is
replaced by high frequency low amplitude EEG waves
2. Stage II:
1. Amplitude starts increasing
2. Sleep spindles and K-complexes appear
3. Sleep spindles: bursts of alpha like waves, frequency 12-
14 Hz, amplitude 50 μV , duration 2 seconds
4. Waxing and waning; hence name spindle
 K- complexes: these are high amplitude-sharp waves
appearing irregularly in EEG
3. Stage III:
1. Moderately deep sleep
2. EEG: low frequency and higher amplitude
4. Stage IV:
1. Stage of deep sleep
2. Prominent delta rhythm
3. Maximum low frequency and high amplitude
4. Difficult to wake up the subject
5. Maximum time of sleep
1. Decrease in heart rate and blood pressure
2. Fall in body temperature
3. Slow and regular respiration
4. Increase gastrointestinal activity due
parasympathetic activity
5. Decreased muscle tone
6. No rapid eye movement
7. Deep sleep in stage III and IV
1. Neural and chemical mechanisms

A. Neural: afferent, central and circadian

1. Afferent control:

1. repeated and monotonous stimulation of

mechanoreceptors and its afferents at <10 Hz

2. Mediated by low frequency stimulation of

brainstem and other areas that activate sleep
centers in brain
 3 brain areas on stimulation produce slow
wave sleep
1. Diencephalic Zone: posterior hypothalamus &

intralaminar and anterior hypothalamic nuclei

2. Medullary Zone: reticular formation in medulla

3. Basal forebrain Zone: preoptic area of

hypothalamus and diagonal band of Broca
1. Suprachiasmatic nucleus is the biological
clock

2. It is influenced by light-dark cycle through

retinohypothalamic pathway

3. Day night variations control sleep throgh this

patway
1. Pons governs NREM and REM sleep
2. Seratonin, norepinephrine, acetyl choline, adenosine and
prostaglandins influence pons
3. Seratonin supresses sleep
4. Norepinephrine prevents sleep
5. Decrease in dopamine causes increase REM sleep
6. Acetylcholine promotes REM sleep
7. Adenosine induces sleep
8. Caffeine an adenosine inhibitor produce alertness
9. Prostaglandin: PGD2 induces sleep and PGE2 decreases
slow wave sleep
1. REM sleep commences after completion of
slow wave sleep

2. Associated with rapid low voltage EEG

resembling beta rhythm of wakefulness hence
called paradoxical sleep

3. This phase lasts for 10-15 minutes

1. Rapid and roving eye movement- rapid eye
movement sleep
2. Subject may spontaneously arose from this sleep
3. A type of wave pattern, Ponto-geniculo-occipital
spikes (PGO) may appear in EEG
4. Dreams occur and remembered by the subject
5. HR & BP may be increased
6. Muscle tone is depressed except in extra occular
and middle ear ossicle muscles
1. Neural mechanism: neuronal activity in pontine
reticular formation induces REM sleep
2. Chemical mechanism:
1. Acetylcholine mediates REM sleep

2. Monoamines decreases REM sleep

3. Reserpine (MAO inhibitor) enhances PGO activity

4. Barbiturates decrease the duration of REM sleep

1. The 4 stages of sleep becomes less
conspicuous with increasing age

2. Newborn sleep >18 hours a day; REM

50%
No Activity NREM sleeep REM sleep
1 Timing in sleep cycle Occurs first Occurs after NREM
sleep

2 Duration 75% of sleep 25%

3 Autonomic Decrease in HR and BP Increase in HR and BP
symptoms

4 Eye movement Nil Rapid eye movement

5 Dreams Not rememberd Well remembered
6 Muscle tone depressed Profoundly depressed
7 EEG Slow wave high altitude High frequency low
voltage

8 Mechanism Inhibition of reticular Activation of pontine

activating system reticular formation
1. Sleep is a natural unconsciousness that
restores physical and mental strength

2. Enhances thinking and concentration

3. Consolidates learning and memory

4. Promotes growth through growth hormone

secretion

5. Produce dreams that provides amusement

1. Diagnosis of epiolepsy:
1. Grand mal: fast EEG acyivities in tonic and slow

activities in clonic phase

2. Petit mal: spikes and dome

3. Focal: localizes the site of origin of epilepsy

2. Intra cranial space occupying lesion:

1. Irregular slow waves due to pressure effect on

adjacent neruons
1. Insomnia: inability to sleep
1. Primary: disturbance sleep mechanism
2. Secondary: due to medical or psychological
causes
2. Nocolepsy: irresistible urge to sleep
3. Cataplexy: sudden loss of power and movement for a
short period
4. Bruxism: nocturnal grinding of teeth
5. Nocturnal enuresis: failure of neural regulation of
micturition during sleep
1. Sleep paralysis: at the end of REM sleep
patient feels limp for a brief period
2. Night Terror: child awakes in NREM stage
frightened and with tachycardia and sleeps
again without remembering the event
3. Nightmare: awakes frightened and remembers
the event
4. Somnambulism: sleep walk; no recall
5. Hypersomnia: damage to brainstem RAS or
hypothalamus