Abstract
In electroencephalogarphic study nasopharyngeal (Np) leads have been used during past 40 years. But this method is not popular in Japan, : though the technique is easy and devoid of complications. Np EEG is paticularly useful in detecting temporal spikes of patients with psychomotor epilepsy.
Since 1978, in Juntendo University Hospital and in its affiliated hospitals, Np combined with scalp EEGs have been recorded at 56 times for 44 patients who had (1) epilepsy, (2) intracranial mass lesion, (3) psychotic or neurotic disorders and (4) inflammatory or metabolic diseases of central nervous system. In 9 of 20 patients with psychomotor epilepsy (45%) spikes or sharp waves were detected from both Np leads and scalp temporal leads. In 7 of them spikes were mainly localized in the Np lead (“medial type”). Spikes and sharp waves were recorded during sleep in the Np lead as well as in the scalp lead.
It is found in our study that 14 & 6 positive bursts in the scalp lead spread to the Np lead as 14 & 6 “negative” bursts.
It is our opinion that Np lead seems not sensetive enough to detect slow components, except for cases with brain tumor or abscess localized unilaterally. This difficulty in detecting slow components with Np lead is based on difficulty in distinguishing slow componets from respiration.
