ABSTRACT
The electroencephalogram (EEG) provides us with a window into the brain, and was used in this book to study detection and prediction of epileptic seizures. From a physical principles point of view, the EEG measures voltages that are due to electric charges distributed across the volume contained by the skull. Further interpretation of the typical current distribution in the brain, making use of the physiology of the neuronal structure, leads to the model of current dipoles as the primary source for the EEG signal. Identifying the EEG features that allow one to detect epileptic episodes and differentiate it from normal brain behavior is more intricate. Epilepsy is a collective for a very large group of brain misbehaviors that manifest themselves in a variety of ways in the EEG. Intracranial EEG show greater potential in detecting epileptic epochs, at the cost of a rather unwelcome major surgical intervention.
