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Science Frontiers ONLINE No. 19: Jan-Feb 1982 |
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Anomalous Eeg Discharges
Two researchers at the Mayo Clinic have discovered a new, distinctive type of brain-wave burst in the EEG recordings of 65 patients with a wide variety of neurological and brain complaints. These EEGs, which were otherwise normal, would commence quietly but suddenly erupt into strong, rapid, rhythmic pulses. Episodes would last 40-80 seconds, sometimes even longer. The anomalous, high-amplitude waves occasionally occurred while the subjects were asleep. The mystery surrounding this discovery is that the subjects did not notice the discharges and showed no outward signs of this violent brain activity. The 65 patients had little in common except being ill in diverse ways.
(Anonymous; "Red Herring," Cycles, 32:200, 1981. Originally in Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology, 51:186, 1981.)