Clinical neurophysiology with special reference to the electroencephalogram

Abstract

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. © 2009 International League Against Epilepsy.