Quantitative EEG in human neuropharmacology. Rationale, history, and recent developments

CNS availability of compounds with neurological or nonneurological indication, CNS bioequivalence of different compounds/formulations, and CNS drug interactions can be estimated reliably in man by application of quantitative EEG procedures in controlled experimental conditions. Mapping approaches increase the visibility of drug-mediated EEG modifications with limited or selective scalp distribution, thus increasing the control on individual variability and allowing the study of interactions between drugs effect and background EEG pattern, including EEG concomitants of pathological substrata. Correlative structural/functional studies (EEG, CT, NMR, rCBF) are made possible. The pharmaco-EEG potentialities are therefore incremented in the study of compounds of new generation and in nontraditional clinical/therapeutic conditions (cognitive impairments, brain aging, dementia, epilepsies).