Brain Mapping (qEEG)

The brain is a complex electrical organ.  Imagine a vast network of tiny wires, each carrying electrical signals back and forth at lightning speed. These wires are actually neurons, the brain’s nerve cells, which communicate through electric impulses.  These electrical impulses are crucial to how our brain communicates and processes information including thoughts, feelings and behaviours.

If these electrical connections are disrupted or not working properly then it can affect how well our brain works. The specific location and severity of these disruptions has now been associated with different mental health conditions including Depression, PTSD, Anxiety, ADHD and many more.

qEEG is a non-invasive technique to measure some of this electrical activity in the brain using a cap with electrodes.

Brain activity is recorded for 5 minutes with eyes open and 5 minutes with eyes closed during a 1 hour appointment. Afterwards, a complete report of the results is generated showing one’s brain activity traits compared to what is age/gender typical and healthy.

These results can be used in a number of different ways:

  • Solely for interest of the individual and curiosity
  • Diagnostic Clarification
  • To guide and monitor response to rTMS treatment protocols

 

Brain Mapping

Here is a common pattern in Depression:

Delta waves are slower wave forms that are normally highly present during deep sleep. However, in depression, we often find that these slow waves are excessively present in the front of the brain (pre-frontal cortex) even when awake and alert, as seen in RED.

After an acute treatment course of rTMS, this individuals delta waves returned to the levels of those expected in healthy individuals of the same age and gender (shown as green). This improvement in brain wave activity was also associated with a significant improvement in their depressive symptoms.