Eli5 How do EEGs work?
In: Biology
First, what about ECG (electrocardiogram). Electrodes get placed on the skin of the chest and limbs. By looking at the *difference* between electrodes in different spots, we get an idea of how the heart is working. These differences (voltages) get plotted as lines, called *traces*.
And EEG (electroencephalogram) is similar, but the electrodes are on the head. These measure traces between different parts of the head, showing how parts of the brain are behaving. By comparing this to other examples, we can work out what parts of the brain are being used or what’s going wrong.
We can even use it to see if two people are communicating successfully because their brain waves literally sync up (as both are listening to the same speech patterns)!
Latest Answers