title: Altered brain wave activity in persons with chronic spinal cord injury.
abstract: This study investigated brain wave activity associated with spinal cord injury (SCI). Electroencephalograms (EEG) were compared between 10 individuals with SCI and 10 age and sex matched able-bodied controls using a 64-channel EEG montage. SCI participants had chronic (>12 months) paraplegic clinically complete injuries. The 64 channels of EEG data were spread diffusely over the cortex and were compared for delta (2-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-13 Hz), and beta (13-30 Hz) wave components of the EEG frequency spectra. No significant magnitude or directional changes were found in the delta (2-4 Hz) or theta (4-8 Hz) wave frequency bands between these two groups. However, significant and consistent decreased alpha wave (8-13 Hz) and increased beta wave activity (13-30 Hz) were found in the SCI participants across the cortex compared to the able-bodied control group. These findings suggest that the SCI group have increased neural processing compared to the able-bodied individuals, which may be related to ongoing reorganization of brain structures following SCI.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Herbert
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tran
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Craig
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boord
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Middleton
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Siddall
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002908:Chronic Disease; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000473:pathology*