You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and current by reading our editorial policy. We link primary sources - including studies, scientific references, and statistics - within each article and also list them in the resources section at the bottom of our articles. Medical News Today has strict sourcing guidelines and draws only from peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical journals and associations. People can also have EEG abnormalities without epilepsy. Other ways EBA may appear on an EEG include sharps, spikes, and periodic discharges. This brain activity produces a spike-and-wave pattern on an EEG graph, meaning the waves appear high and steep. If a person has an epileptic seizure during an EEG, their brain activity fits a pattern that doctors refer to as epileptiform brain activity (EBA). certain medications, such as benzodiazepines.the stimuli the person is exposed to during the test.whether the person is currently having an epileptic seizure.whether the person talks or moves during the test.Medical professionals refer to the shape and pattern of the waves as a “trace.” Some factors that can affect the trace include:

The machine displays the brain’s electrical currents as waves on a graph.

An EEG is a device that detects and measures the currents arising in different brain areas.Īn EEG consists of small electrodes that attach to the scalp and connect to an external machine via electrical cables. Nerve cells within the brain produce electrical currents.

Epilepsy on eeg vs normal