EEG and Quantitative EEG (qEEG)
EEG, or electroencephalography, is the recording of a person’s brain waves to assess brain function. The dynamics and morphology of brain activity (how they come and go) plus the shapes of the brain waves (lambda, mu, paroxysms, vertex sharp waves, sleep spindles, etc) all are a part of brain activity and reflect healthy or problematic brain activity. Once these observations are complete, the overall average activity within the recording are processed, or quantified.
QEEG, or Quantitative Electroencephalography (sometimes referred to as brain mapping) is the mathematical and statistical analysis of the brain's average electrical activity over the time of the recording. Carefully edited EEG data is processed through special EEG databases to compare the individual's brain function to samples of people of the same sex and similar age without illness or pathology or, in some cases, to samples of individuals with specific diagnoses. This "neurometric" comparison helps to identify areas of the brain that are producing abnormalities in terms of amounts and types of electrical activity, coherence (essentially connectivity between sites), and phase-lag (speed of information between sites).
Brain mapping typically reveals patterns of excesses or deficiencies in brain wave frequencies that are characteristic for certain disorders. Problems with connectivity between sites in the brain may be the key issue in epilepsy and learning disabilities. Medications typically do not change these underlying problems, leaving you to suffer with reoccurring or chronic symptoms.
The qEEG can assist in identifying ADHD, learning disabilities, anxiety, depression, OCD, head injuries, brain instabilities, and seizure disorders. See my introductory course into EEG recording and brain mapping here: https://youtu.be/Y280d-Siu5s