The Electroencephalogram Machine/Technology and Its Future Uses

The Electroencephalogram machine/technology and its future uses

Introduction

The electroencephalogram (EEG) machine is a tool that allows doctors and scientists to read brainwaves produced by the cerebral cortex of a patient. This paper will provide information on who invented the EEG machine and give an explanation of what it is. It will also inform the reader of the potential benefits that the EEG machine will have on real world applications and will give some information on the further required research that is needed to prefect the EEG machine.

Background

In 1875, a British physician by the name of Richard Caton first noticed that the brain produced electrical currents (McGrath, 2008). Over five decades later, the first EEG machine was invented by Hans Berger from the University of Jena in Germany in 1929. This German neuropsychiatrist came up with the conclusion that the electrical current generated by the brain can be read through the EEG machine. His conclusion was rejected by the scientific community at that time. Five years later, his conclusion was verified by Edgar Douglas Adrian and B. C. H. Matthews which attracted many other scientists to show interest in that field. In the year of 1936, a neurophysiologist by the name of W. Gray Walter demonstrated the power of the EEG machine by performing an experiment that pinpointed a tumor in the brain of a patient. (Romanowski, 1999).

The key components that make up the EEG machine are the electrodes, amplifiers and a computer control module. The electrodes pick up tiny electrical signals that are produced by the nerve cells in the brain. The cell body sends a command through the axon which carries away this message to be transferred to another nerve cell. In the axon, an electrical signal causes the neurotransmitters (chemicals that carry the message) to be released into the synapses. Electrical signals are produced in different places of the brain when performing different tasks such as reading,...