A spatial power spectrum analysis of the electroencephalogram

Abstract

The method of spatial power-spectrum analysis has been applied to measurements of the distribution of rms alpha-band potential on the scalp. Data was recorded using the 31-Electrode System and spatial power-spectrum estimates (PSEs) were obtained from Mercator projections of the potential interpolated using the triangular method. PSEs were calculated using the Lim and Malik algorithm for maximum-entropy power-spectrum estimation. In order to investigate the utility of spatial power-spectrum analysis, PSEs were obtained from subjects in two conditions; resting with eyes closed (EC) and resting with eyes open and fixed on a single point (EO). A stepwise discriminant analysis was performed with features from the PSEs and the resultant discriminant function was applied to data not considered in the formulation of the function. Over 92% of test data was correctly classified. The features used in the discriminant function identify spatial waves which are most useful in separating data. The results demonstrate that waves oriented along front-back and right-left lines are most important in separating data into EC and EO groups.