Brain waves and problems of psychology.

Abstract

Since World War II numerous advances have been reported dealing with the relationships between brain waves and psychological processes. These studies are summarized and discussed under the categories of sleep and wakefulness, sensation, response processes, perception, and complex processes. "Each new discovery seems to reveal the brain as an even more versatile organ than was previously appreciated. The major advances in the areas discussed have unquestionably stemmed from the delineation of anatomical connections and physiological functions of the reticular formation of the lower brain stem and the diffuse thalamic projection system." 206 references.

EEG in adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

“…Although the relationship between EEG activity and intelligence is contentious, there have been no direct links between normal intelligence scores and betweensubject EEG variability (Ellington, 1956;Vogel and Broverman, 1964). A number of studies have also reported that the greatest between-group difference in EEG activity is associated with an AD/HD diagnosis rather than intelligence (Chabot and Serfontein, 1996;Clarke et al, 2001bClarke et al, , 2005.…”

Reaction time and EEG activation under alerted and nonalerted conditions.

“…Adrian and Matthews (1934) felt that some form or pattern in the visual field was necessary to block the occipital alpha rhythm, but agreed with Berger that the focusing of attention, rather than the specific type of sensory stimulus, had a widespread effect upon the alpha rhythm. Other studies dealing with the effect of sensory stimulation and attentional states have been reviewed by Lindsley (1944) and Ellingson (1956). ' Thus alpha blockade came to be associated with sensory stimulation of various types and was found over various areas of the brain irrespective of the type of stimulation.…”

Is conscious perception a series of discrete temporal frames?

“…Several authors argued that alpha waves could serve as a temporal coding mechanism . For example, Ellingson (1956) proposed that "when the excitability cycles of a Discrete temporal frames 13 group of neurons are synchronized, then the flow of impulses through that group will be timed by the frequency and phase of the cycle" (p. 9). Timing in this case means something more like gating, because the supposed advantage of it is to prevent the smearing or distortion that a continuous input of stimuli would generate (Lindsley, 1952).…”