ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC PATTERN QUANTIFICATION AND THE AROUSAL CONIINIUM

It was concluded that behavioral arousal is inversely related to the scaled continua of the proportion of total power to be found at the dominant frequency, and the rhythmicity of the dominant wave.

Abstract

ABSTRACT The view that the EEG shows a continuum correlated with behavioral arousal was subjected to experimental test. A simple model of the expected results from five experimental states of arousal was used as a criterion against which to evaluate various parameters of EEG data after they had been processed by electronic analysis systems. Eighteen normal young adults were the Ss. Occipital and parietal recordings were taken during relaxation, attention, arousal, recovery, and relief states. Sample epochs of the records were analyzed by amplitude distribution, frequency spectrum, power spectrum, wavelength distribution, autocorrelation, and cross correlation. No single parameter matched the predicted model in a convincing manner. However, correlograms of occipital recordings after interpretation by relative power ratios did support the hypothesis with statistically significant differences. It was concluded that behavioral arousal is inversely related to the scaled continua of (1) the proportion of total power to be found at the dominant frequency, and (2) rhythmicity of the dominant wave.