[The objectivation of auditory and optical imaginations in the electroencephalogramm (author's transl)]

This study describes two new DC-potentials, which are related to auditory or optical imagination. The "auditory imagination potential" (AIP) is a negative DC-shift on the vertex lasting during the whole period of an auditory imagination. During an optical imagination there is a similar negative DC-shift in the ocipital region only. These "imagination potentials" can be already recognized in the "raw-EEG" by means of a special experimental technique. The magnitude of amplitudes correlates with the degree of concentration of the subject. In the case of intense imaginations potentials with amplitudes up to 20 muV and a duration of some seconds are recorded. The comparison between the vertex and the occipital lead permits the examination of the alternate occurence of auditory and optical conscious processes. The "imagination potentials" (AIP and OIP) are not related to any external stimulation or motor reaction and represent modality-specific EEG-correlates of cognitive, conscious processes (memory and imagination). Their significance for the "objective audiometry" is discussed.