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Clinical neurophysiology with special reference to the electroencephalogram
Author(s) -
Zifkin Benjamin G.,
Avanzini Giuliano
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
epilepsia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.687
H-Index - 191
eISSN - 1528-1167
pISSN - 0013-9580
DOI - 10.1111/j.1528-1167.2009.02037.x
Subject(s) - electroencephalography , clinical neurophysiology , skepticism , neurophysiology , german , epilepsy , brain function , neuroscience , subject (documents) , neurology , epileptic seizure , clinical neurology , cognitive science , psychology , medicine , history , philosophy , computer science , epistemology , archaeology , library science
Summary In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, many important discoveries in nervous system structure and function involved the electrical properties of nerve tissue. The application of these advances, as well as those in electronic amplification and recording, led to the discovery of the human electroencephalogram (EEG) by Hans Berger, a German psychiatrist. Originally received with skepticism, the EEG became a subject of intense interest, and after World War II, became a leading clinical and experimental tool in neurology. Today, it remains important especially in the study and treatment of epilepsy. Though the EEG has also given rise to more sophisticated applications, these remain based on Berger’s initial work, one of the great discoveries of medical history.