The development of EEG brain mapping.

The field of EEG brain mapping is a collection of many separate techniques for quantified EEG analysis. The most popular technique is the color-coded topographic mapping of frequency content, usually taken in the alert eyes-closed state. This field has developed progressively over 60 years and now is gradually entering use in clinical situations. Accepted clinical uses are still rather limited. A variety of substantial problems exists regarding artifacts, confounding clinical issues, the diversity of available techniques, and statistical interpretation. Clinically, the tests may demonstrate an abnormality but are generally nonspecific regarding the type of responsible pathology. They localize impairment far less well than neuroimaging tests. These digital EEG techniques should not be used separately from the polygraph EEG at this time and should be only used by persons who have sufficient skills, knowledge, and abilities in traditional polygraph EEG interpretation along with additional knowledge and experience in statistical and EEG computer-processing techniques.