You will need to wash your hair the night before the test. Do not use any oils, sprays, or conditioner on your hair before this test.

Your health care provider may want you to stop taking certain medications before the test. Do not change or stop medications without first talking to your health care provider.

You should avoid all foods containing caffeine for 8 hours before the test.

Sometimes it is necessary to sleep during the test, so you may be asked to reduce your sleep time the night before. If you're asked to sleep as little as possible before the test, don't consume any caffeine, energy drinks, or other products that help you stay awake.

This test causes no discomfort. Although having electrodes pasted onto your skin may feel strange, they only record activity and do not produce any sensation. No significant electricity passes from the electrode into your skin.

EEG is used to help diagnose if you're having seizures and if so, what type. An EEG is also used to find the causes of confusion, and to evaluate head injuries, tumors, infections, degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, and abnormal changes in body chemistry that affect the brain.

It is also used to:

• Evaluate problems with sleep ( sleep disorders)
• To investigate periods of unconsciousness
• To monitor the brain during brain surgery

The EEG may be done to show that the brain has no activity, in the case of someone in a deep coma. It can be helpful when trying to decide if someone is brain dead.

EEG cannot be used to measure intelligence.

Images

Brain

Brain wave monitor

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Review Date: 03/21/2010
Reviewed By: Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of Medicine; Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, and Department of Anatomy at UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)