Moreover, a general misunderstanding of “vigilance” and a lack of coherent theory to describe the EEG contributed to the publication of many textbooks with more than 50 partial aspects of EEG that lack any common thread.ĭr. Instead, EEG is dominated by data-driven Q-EEG where one looks at mathematical correlations without a coherent theory to guide interpretation. The Berlin model is not well known in the United States. These important developments led to a theory-driven model of EEG interpretation known as: “Berlin Psychiatry School Model of EEG-Vigilance.” This model was based in-part on neurologist Henry Head’s concept of “vigilance.” Dieter Bente later expanded vigilance to include the spatio-temporal changes of the spontaneous resting EEG as a systemic macroindicator of the cerebral global function and its dynamics. It was not until the late 1950’s that psychiatric clinicians pursued the idea that all behavior and experience must have neuronal correlates which should be reflected by dynamic alterations of the EEG. However, the empirical development of EEG was hampered from its beginning due to a negligence of theory to guide its interpretation.
Hans Berger advocated the human electroencephalogram (EEG) as a central tool for psychiatric research and diagnosis. is an essential guide to electroencephalography for Neuropsychiatrists, Psychiatrists, Neurologists, Clinical Psychologists, Neuropsychologists, Psychophysiologists, and Neuroscientists. The Theoretical Interpretation Of Electroencephalography (EEG): The Important Role of Spontaneous Resting EEG and Vigilance by Gerald Ulrich, M.D.