Clinical Neurophysiology Using Electroencephalography in Geriatric Psychiatry: Neurobiologic Implications and Clinical Utility

Abstract

Electroencephalography (EEG) offers a unique contribution to the armamentarium of imaging technologies used in the evaluation of brain function. The primary clinical application of EEG is in the diagnosis of delirium, demen tia, and epilepsy, which are frequently encountered in the practice of geropsychiatry. This review summarizes the principles behind generation of the EEG signal, its strengths and limitations as a technology, clinical indications for performing an EEG, the principles underlying quantitative EEG (QEEG), and how QEEG is allowing us to probe brain function and connectivity in new ways. (J Geriatr Psychiatry Neurol 1999; 12:150-164).