Computer assisted analysis of relations between single-unit activity and spontaneous EEG.
Two mutually complementary computer methods are described which can be used for the study of unit-EEG relationships during spontaneous EEG waves. The first one consists of using the unit activity to trigger the averaging of sections of EEG preceding and following each unit; the same unit activity is used for building a histogram of unit firing from another cell. Sections of data subjected to this analysis need not be continuous; they may be chosen interactively on the computer terminal, thus allowing to analyze intermittent phenomena. The second method consists of using a particular point of an EEG wave to trigger EEG averages from other channels as well as unit histograms. Here again the waves are chosen interactively. The unit-triggered EEG averages are more objective and less time consuming. However, they do not describe accurately the characteristics of the individual wave to which a unit firing is associated and also they give no information about inhibitory phenomena. Both these drawbacks are corrected by the wave-triggered unit histograms where the experimenter interactively selects and stores for analysis EEG waves with the appropriate characteristics. Several examples are given from the utilization of these programs in neurophysiological and neuropharmacological experiments, with special emphasis on generalized epilepsy.
D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002415:Cats; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D003201:Computers; D003344:Cortical Synchronization; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000503:physiopathology; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology