ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the experience with using topographic brain mapping and dipole localization techniques as tools to explore the neurophysiological correlates of two central nervous system (CNS) acting drugs—ethanol and cocaine. Traditional methods of assessing the electrophysiological effects of drugs have relied upon visual inspection of up to 21 individual tracings of brain electrical activity. In addition, such electroencephalograms often present too much data to be synthesized in a relatively short period of time. Quantitative measures of electroencephalographic activity have been used extensively to explore the nature of aberrations in CNS excitability. Equivalent dipole localization is another quantitative measure of brain electrical activity that has recently been used to explore the neural origins of scalp-recorded potentials. While an understanding of the origin of these potentials is necessary before event-related potentials can be used clinically to their full potential, current source derivation techniques are very useful research tools in the characterization of subtle drug effects and pathophysiological disorders.
