Introduction to EEG Reading

Abstract

The first encounter with an EEG tracing is somewhat perplexing to the physician and the technician alike as they are likely to be awestruck by the complexity of the record. Often, the initial impression is that the task is too complex to learn. The physician familiar with reading ECGs soon realizes that there is little in common between the analysis of the repetitive complexes of the ECG and the ever changing waveforms of the EEG. At this stage, the prospective electroencephalographer is tempted to exclaim: “This is all Greek and Latin to me.” Indeed, learning to read EEGs is not unlike learning to read a foreign language.