Making Sense of the EEG

Posted on: March 28, 2023

Written by: Udaya Seneviratne MBBS, MRCP (UK), FRACP, PhD   

Electroencephalogram (EEG) has become an indispensable tool in the investigation of epilepsies and several other neurological disorders. Therefore, EEG is an integral component of neurology training across the world. Though filled with intellectual excitement, reading EEGs can be a daunting task for a beginner. Besides confusing electrophysiological principles, a wide range of normal variants and many ‘grey zones’ between normal and abnormal patterns poses further challenges to a beginner.

This book is presented in a way that is easy to understand while providing a solid neurophysiological foundation to those who are in the early stages of their careers including trainee neurologists, electroencephalographers, and EEG technologists. Hence, some neurophysiological concepts are presented in an oversimplified format for easy understanding by beginners. There are over 200 figures and exemplar EEGs included to enhance understanding and pattern recognition.

This book is divided into four main sections starting with basic principles to educate the reader on the cellular and neurophysiological aspects as well as technical and engineering principles of EEG. It is followed by a section on normal EEG and the next section covers the clinical applications of EEG in epilepsies and other brain disorders in detail. The final section is dedicated to critical care EEG dealing with the most complex forms of EEG in clinical practice. Essentially, this book takes the reader through a journey, starting with basic principles followed by routine clinical applications and ending with the most difficult EEGs. Each chapter contains numerous figures of exemplar EEGs to help the reader understand the content easily. This book is designed to provide the reader with the necessary knowledge to use EEG in clinical practice with good background knowledge of underpinning neurophysiologic principles. After reading this book, any beginner should feel confident to embark on their journey of interpreting EEGs.