Conventional electroencephalography as a diagnostic tool: possibilities and limits

After a short historical review, the Author describes some relevant new acquisitions supplied by the Electroencephalography in the latest years. In particular, some of the most typical EEG patterns observed in inflammatory and degenerative diseases, in seizure disorders and in sleep disturbances are reviewed. The Author underlines the importance of the EEG as a tool of diagnosis and functional investigation of CNS and the specific fields in which EEG may be supported by the more recent computer-assisted techniques.