[Effects of Ginkgo biloba extract on functional brain activity.. An assessment of clinical and experimental studies]

Electroencephalography is the only convenient method for functional exploration of the brain. The recent introduction of signal analysis techniques has given it a quantitative dimension and has resulted in pharmacological studies of electoencephalograms. In four studies of this kind the effects of Ginkgo biloba extract were investigated on three pathological animal models, in young healthy volunteers and in elderly people with dementia disorders. In man, the EEG tracings could be analyzed in relation to different psychometric tests. The results obtained confirm those of clinical trials, and notably the activity of Ginkgo biloba extract on alertness.