[Fractal diagnostics of disturbances in the alpha-rhythm dynamics in patients with epilepsy]

A new method for analyzing the chaotic component of EEG is proposed. The method is based on estimating the fractal dimension of fluctuations of alpha-rhythm power (the square of amplitude). It is shown that the dimensions of the background EEG fragments for epilepsy patients is significantly higher than that in norm, indicating a disbalance of cerebral mechanisms that control the alpha-activity in this disease. A tendency toward the disturbance of the normal fractal structure of EEG in a group of patients with initial signs of epilepsy was revealed. This suggests that the method is of considerable promise for setting the individual long-term prognosis of the development of the epileptic syndrome.