Spectral analysis of EEG during mental activity (author's transl)

With the use of power spectral analysis, the occipital and frontal EEGs in normal young subjects were examined during mental activity under closed-eye and open-eye conditions. Under the closed-eye condition, the peak of power spectral density in the alpha band was suppressed during mental activity, as compared with the finding obtained without mental loading. Moreover, the peak frequency of the alpha band shifted to higher frequencies under the mental loading condition in all of the subjects. Under the open-eye condition, alpha waves were prominently suppressed and no peak of power spectral density in the alpha band could be detected. However, during mental activity the peak of power spectral density could be detected in the delta wave band of both occipital and frontal EEGs.