[Electroencephalographic morphology of seizures in full-term newborn infants]

e studied the morphology of the electrical discharges of 63 newborns who presented an electrical or electro-clinical status of known aetiology. The seizures have been classified as: discharges of beta, alpha, theta and delta frequencies; discharges of diphasic spikes; discharges of "saw waves"; positive spikes or slow waves, burst-suppressions and extremely polymorph discharges. We confirm the existing opinion in the current literature that the discharges are really changeable and polymorphic, are modified during seizure and vary in morphology, voltage, frequency and polarity. A typical or characteristic pattern of the seizures of newborn does not exist although theta and delta frequencies are predominant. A correlation between voltage, frequency and duration of the electrical discharge seems to exist; the higher the frequency of the electrical discharge, the lower is its voltage and its duration and vice versa. The cortical immaturity of the newborn plays an important role in the morphological changes of the electrical discharges.