PROBLEMS IN THE CORRELATION OF PSYCHOPATHOLOGY WITH ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHIC ABNORMALITIES
RONALD R. KOEGLER M.D.,
EDWARD G. COLBERT M.D., , and
RICHARD D. WALTER M.D.1
1 Departments of Psychiatry and Medicine (Neurology), UCLA Medical Center, Los Angeles 24, Calif.
1. Frequency analysis has been available for nearly 15 years, but its inherent disadvantages have limited its use in correlating the EEG with clinical data. Auto-correlation and cross-correlation techniques are more recent and hold considerable promise.
2. The use of these techniques will add little to our present knowledge unless we also improve our methods of quantifying behavior and psychopathology.
3. Most studies of EEG abnormalities in psychiatric syndromes have little value because of lack of controls and poorly-defined EEG and behavioral criteria. This has been true in studies of the significance of 14 and 6 per second positive spiking.
4. Research should be directed toward developing techniques which will enable us to quantify behavior and emotional impulses in a more accurate and scientific manner.
