The Electroencephalogram in Minor Brain Injury

The EEG is a graphic recording of the brain’s electrical currents. Developed by Berger in 1929, the EEG is generated by the cerebral cortex and modulated by subcortical nuclei. The EEG is an important aid in classifying and describing seizure disorders (1). The EEG can be helpful in other clinical settings including the assessment of cerebral function in coma (2), and intoxication, and the identification of pathognomonic features of infectious disorders such as herpes encephalitis, subacute sclerosing panencephalitis or Jakob-Creutzfeldt’s disease (3). The EEG can be diagnostic in certain physiologic disturbances such as metabolic encephalopathy (4) and has an adjunctive role in the evaluation of dementia. It may also be useful in some patients who have sustained minor head trauma.