electrical activity of the brain

spontaneous or evoked changes in electrical brain potentials. Spontaneous electrical activity of the brain was discovered by British physiologist Richard Caton (1842–1926) and others around 1875 but was not explored in detail until the development of sophisticated electronic recording devices in the 1930s. The oscillations may vary in frequency from 1 to more than 50 Hz, and from 50 to 200 mV in amplitude, as recorded by electrodes attached to the scalp. See also brain waves.

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Psychology term of the day

September 8th 2024

drift

1. a reduction in variation in genetic traits that can occur when sampling from continually smaller groups, such that some traits ultimately become excluded from possibility.

2. a reduction in the reliability of technical instruments orin the accuracy of observers over time. See instrument drift; observer drift.