Interaction between intermittent photic stimulation and auditory stimulation on the human EEG. Preliminary investigation through power spectral analysis

The effects of flicker photic stimulation (6, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16 flashes/sec) and of white noise (80 dB SPL) on the EEG of man were investigated with the aid of power spectral analysis. In order to evaluate both the alpha attenuation response (AAR) and the 'driving' reaction induced by flicker as well as the effect of noise, the analysis was carried out on broad (delta, theta, alpha, beta) and on narrow (bandwidth: 1 Hz) spectral bands. A significant correlation between the amount of AAR induced by noise and a measure of the tendency to exhibit photic driving was found, though there was no clear-cut interaction between the photic stimuli and noise when delivered stimultaneously.