[Quantitative EEG correlates of the human frontal lobe dysfunction]

Increased central-parietal EEG theta-2 activity (about 6.5 per sec) was found in children with cognitive disorders (in Rett's syndrome, fragile X-syndrome, infantile autism) and in elderly patients with Alzheimer-type dementia (with prevalence of neuropsychological "frontal" disorders) in the presence of suppressed alpha rhythm. This theta-activity was closely associated with cognitive deficits and possessed a specific functional topography, namely it focused in the parietal region and suppressed by both visual stimulation and motor tests. The similar EEG pattern was observed in some patients treated with neuroleptics and/or during hyperventilation. By taking into account the data available in the literature on motor, oculomotor, regional cerebral blood flow and the probability prediction in frontal lobar dysfunction, it is suggested that the theta-activity described appears in the visuomanual coordination system and is a physiological correlate of decreased functional status of frontal lobes.