What is an Electroencephalogram (EEG)?

An Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a way that doctors, scientists, and researchers can record brain activity while someone performs a task. They do this by fitting a network of electrodes on someone's scalp, which then measures electrical activity in the brain. The electrodes are painless and harmless; in fact, patients outfitted with them don't even feel a sensation other than the electrodes resting on their scalp. EEG is completely non-invasive, meaning there are no injections, and it doesn't use X-rays or radiation. It is considered safe by the scientific and medical communities, except in very rare cases where a patient with a pre-existing seizure disorder may respond to the flashing lights or breathing patterns involved in recording brain activity. A patient would be tested for any potential problems before undergoing EEG.

Traditionally, EEG has been used to diagnose epilepsy, but it has also proved a useful tool in collecting information about sleep disorders and other brain disorders, which are known as encephalopathies – hence the name of the device. The technology is actually more than 100 years old, but over time technicians and scientists have improved the effectiveness and increased the applications with more disorders.

More recently, EEG has shown great promise in the science of neurofeedback, in which people suffering from various brain disorders such as Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), drug or alcohol addiction, autism, depression, or migraine headaches are able to learn to manage their disorders naturally. They do this at a special clinic, under the supervision of a doctor or technician, by being placed on an EEG and performing activities (usually a game) while monitoring their own brainwaves. This device then collects neurological and physiological information about the patient and displays it in an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand format that the patient can monitor.

In this way, many patients are able to "retrain" their brain by recognizing the way their thoughts affect their brainwave activity, and learning to think, breathe or act in new ways to restore their neurological activity to a healthy, normal configuration, rather than taking potentially harmful stimulants, personality-altering antidepressants or other powerful psychotropic drugs.

Because EEG is safe and free of side effects, it is rapidly gaining popularity with adults and also with children as a way to treat neurological disorders, such as ADHD, without using stimulants or other chemicals.