Question

• Why did we have different mental activities with the EEG experiment and what were we expecting to see?

Answer 1

It is believed that mental activities like thinking, reasoning, problem solving etc are interrelated, with some activities being kinds or parts of others. The cerebrum, which is the largest part of the brain, is responsible for most of the activities of the brain. It is divided into four sections-

* The frontal lobe, which is responsible for problem solving, behavior, judgement, creative thinking, attention and physical activities etc.

* The parietal lobe, which controls visual functioning, reading understanding, and sensory comprehension.

* The temporal libe, which is responsible for visual and auditory memories and also helps to manage speech and hearing capabilities.

* The occipital lobe, which is mainly involved with vision.

An EEG is used to measure the brain waves and how the brain functions under different situations. It helps in evaluation of brain disorders. We know that impulses are generated due to electrical activity in the brain cells. Since different parts of the brain are involved in controlling different types of activities, hence the different mental activities helped to measure the changes in EEG of brain when that that region was stimulated. Most waves of 8Hz and higher frequencies are normal findings in the EEG of an awake adult.

So, the main purpose of the different mental activities with the EEG experiment is to measure the brain activity and the region of the brain that was stimulated during that activity.