Information processing during two types of EEG activity.

S J Hutt

doi:10.1016/0013-4694(75)90125-x

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Information processing during two types of EEG activity.

S J Hutt

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Abstract

A 15-year-old girl whose EEG contained frequent bursts of generalized sub-clinical spikewave activity was examined on a paced serial-choice response task with simultaneous EEG control. The task was carried out at three different speeds and three different information loads. Performance was compared during paroxysms of spike-wave activity and during normal EEG background activity. Four parameters of performance were compared, each parameter being somewhat differently affected by spike-wave activity. "Response ambiguity" was significantly increased in the presence of spike-wave activity, with a corresponding decrease in the amount of "information transmitted". The "absolute rate" at which information could be transmitted in relation to presentation rate was consequently reduced during spike-wave activity, the effect being most marked at the intermediate speed of presentation (1 signal/2 sec). However, when signals were presented very slowly (1/4 sec) the child's "relative information transmitted" during spike-wave activity approached that achieved under normal background conditions. Thus, accuracy of performance per se is not critically affected by spike-wave; rather it is the rate at which signals can be handled. Spike-wave may therefore be conceptualized as a form of "neural noise" whose effect is to reduce a subject's channel capacity.

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Adolescent Attention Electroencephalography Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe Female Humans Information Theory Neural Inhibition Reaction Time Retention, Psychology Synaptic Transmission Thinking Journal Article Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

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S J Hutt. 1975. Information processing during two types of EEG activity.. https://doi.org/10.1016/0013-4694(75)90125-x

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