What is a brain scan test? An electroencephalogram (EEG) is a non-invasive test that records electrical patterns within the brain. This test is used to help diagnose complications such as seizures, epilepsy, head injuries, dizziness, headaches, brain tumors, and sleep problems. This test is also used to confirm brain death.
How does brain tape work?
Billions of nerve cells in the brain produce tiny electrical signals that produce patterns called brain waves. During an EEG test, small electrodes and wires are attached to the head. Electrodes detect brain waves, and the EEG machine amplifies the signals and records them as a wave pattern on graph paper or a computer screen.
What is an EEG (QEEG)?
Quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) is a diagnostic tool that measures electrical activity in different parts of the brain using EEG processing. By using QEEG, it is possible to check the functioning of the brain and determine which areas of the brain have increased or decreased electrical activity, thus revealing the weaknesses and strengths and problems (disorders) of the brain. Disorders such as AD/HD, anxiety, depression, Alzheimer’s, learning disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder… can be diagnosed using QEEG. To obtain QEEG, first by placing an EEG cap on the head, up to 19 EEG channels or EEG are taken from the person. In the next step, a series of complex mathematical operations (such as Fourier and Violet transforms) are performed on the EEG. The result of these processes becomes a series of images (colored heads) which we call QEEG or brain map. In fact, brain mapping is a method by which we can translate the language of the brain. In the brain map, each colored head corresponds to the activity of a brain wave. The way these waves work together makes us perform properly or improperly. If each of the waves has a proper function, we see the head in green. High activity of brain waves is seen in red and low activity in blue. In other brain imaging methods such as CT, MRI, PET, factors such as cerebral blood flow, metabolism or structural integrity of the brain are measured, while as mentioned, QEEG is a tool that measures the amount of electrical activity of the brain.
Interpretation of the brain map or QEEG
Nowadays, by comparing the QEEG of a sick person with the QEEG of normal people (available in the QEEG analysis databases of normal or normal people), it is possible to identify brain function abnormalities and by matching it with the existing patterns, the type of disorder can be determined. The basis of such a comparison is that different psychiatric diseases cause significant abnormalities in the brain and cause changes in QEEG (Chabet et al., 1999 and 2001). Since the spectral composition of the electrical activity of the brain changes with age, therefore, when comparing with the normal population, the age of the individual and the normal population should be the same.
