[Cortical spectral distribution of infantile electroencephalography in attention disorders]

Sensory and attention disorders cause selective effects on the topographical distribution of electroencephalograph frequencies.

In this paper we show changes in spectral topography produced by visual attention tests in a group of healthy children, thus demonstrating the cerebral areas involved in this mental process and the anatomical and bioelectrical organization of the subsystems involved.

To distinguish the effect due to cognoscitive activity from what is merely a visual sensorial process, firstly we compared resting quantified electroencephalograms with the eyes shut, with those done with the eyes open. Immediately afterwards we evaluated the spectral transformation caused by the test to find the contribution made to the electroencephalogram pattern by intellectual activity, using spectral amplitude analysis as an objective method for the measurement of recordings in a group of 10 children with an average age of 8.85 years.

The contribution of the cognitive test is seen in an increased beta frequency in the temporal and occipital cortical areas, whilst the maps of cortical distribution show the cerebral areas activated.