electroencephalography
Enable an AI agent to recognise an electroencephalography study, assess whether its recorded brain electrical activity is usable for its stated purpose, and identify justified next actions.
Research draft, second pass
A second pass drafted this model: the structure a model of this thing needs, and what is known about it in the world. The line under this one says how the second half was obtained - researched against sources, or recalled without web access, in which case nothing here was read anywhere and every claim is a lead to verify. Unreviewed either way.
Researched by: Codex
Purpose and description
Enable an AI agent to recognise an electroencephalography study, assess whether its recorded brain electrical activity is usable for its stated purpose, and identify justified next actions.
It can be Determine whether a recording has enough acquisition context to be identified and interpreted as EEG.; Locate usable intervals and flag channel failures, artifacts or missing context for technical review.; Compare documented derivations and processing variants while preserving links to the acquired signal.; Align EEG observations with participant state, stimuli, behaviour and synchronised recordings.; Prepare evidence-linked observations for qualified interpretation or approved analysis.; Identify whether additional recording, annotation or review is needed before a proposed use..
Distinguishing features
Records electrical potential differences through electrode channels associated with cerebral activity; a blood-flow or oxygenation measurement alone is not EEG.
Channel meaning depends on electrode locations and reference or derivation choices; a waveform without this context is insufficiently identified.
Includes acquisition context and traceable signal evidence; a diagnosis or narrative report alone is only a linked output of the study.
Distinguishes cerebral activity from ocular, muscular, cardiac and technical contributions rather than treating every recorded fluctuation as brain activity.
Identifies whether EEG is the principal study or a component of a wider protocol; the presence of EEG channels does not make the entire protocol an EEG study.
Scope
+ Study purpose, recording modality and acquisition stage
+ Electrode placement, channel derivations and signal processing history
+ Recording timeline, participant state and synchronised events
+ Signal integrity, artifacts and usable recording intervals
+ EEG observations, interpretation status and evidence supporting downstream use
- The participant's complete clinical record and independently established diagnoses
- EEG amplifier manufacture, inventory and maintenance lifecycle
- Treatment selection, prescribing and broader clinical management
- Independent models of epilepsy, sleep disorders or other investigated conditions
- Other neurophysiological modalities and complete multimodal studies, including polysomnography
Characteristics
- Study purpose
- Clinical investigation, monitoring, research, interface control, other stated purpose, unknown Determines which observations, recording conditions and downstream actions are relevant.
- Electrode access modality
- Scalp, intracranial, mixed, unspecified; inclusion boundaries remain to be settled Prevents recordings with materially different spatial meaning and acquisition requirements from being treated as interchangeable.
- Acquisition and interpretation stage
- Planned, acquiring, acquired, technically reviewed, interpreted, amended Separates available signal from completed technical assessment and reviewed interpretation.
- Electrode and derivation configuration
- Links between electrode locations, acquired channels, reference electrodes and displayed derivations, with validity intervals Makes waveform polarity, distribution and changes across montages interpretable.
- Sampling frequency
- Hz, recorded per channel group and acquisition interval Constrains temporal resolution and the analysis that the stored signal can support.
- Amplitude calibration
- µV per stored unit, or explicit physical units and calibration provenance Allows amplitude observations to be interpreted and compared without confusing display scale with signal magnitude.
- Processing lineage
- Raw acquisition linked to filtering, resampling, rereferencing, artifact handling and derived outputs Shows which transformations may affect an apparent pattern or quantitative result.
- Usable recording duration
- Seconds or minutes, qualified by purpose, channel availability and exclusion criteria Distinguishes elapsed recording time from evidence adequate for the intended assessment.
- Participant state
- Time-indexed wakefulness, drowsiness, sleep, sedation or other documented state, including unknown Provides context for assessing observed activity and comparing intervals.
Also called
Where this came from
wikidata · CC0 1.0
Drafted structure
Bundle to layer to finding to question, as the second pass will find it: 5 bundles · 10 layers · 10 findings · 20 questions.
Study identity and purpose Establishes what EEG activity is being represented and what question it is intended to address.
A brief investigation, prolonged monitoring session and experimental recording may require different evidence despite all containing EEG.
Recording boundary
Identifies the EEG modality and its relationship to a larger study.
EEG study unit
Records whether the represented unit is a session, a continuous monitoring episode or an EEG component of another protocol.
- What acquisition episode or linked set of episodes constitutes this EEG study? definition
- Which electrode access modality is used, and which parts of any wider protocol belong to neighbouring models? boundary
Intended evidence
Connects the study purpose to the conditions and observations needed.
EEG question and adequacy
Captures the question motivating acquisition and the basis for deciding whether the recording addresses it.
- What clinical, experimental or operational question was this EEG intended to address? definition
- Which recorded states, events, channel coverage or durations are required by the applicable protocol to address that question? measurement
Electrodes and signal lineage Preserves the physical and computational meaning of the EEG channels.
EEG waveforms cannot be assessed reliably without knowing electrode positions, derivations and transformations.
Electrode-to-channel mapping
Relates recorded channels to electrode locations and acquisition references.
Spatial and reference context
Records placement conventions, deviations and the electrode relationships defining each channel.
- Which electrode locations and placement convention were used, and what deviations or missing electrodes were documented? provenance
- Which electrodes define each acquired and displayed channel, and when did those relationships change? definition
Acquisition and transformations
Tracks how physical potentials became the signal being inspected.
Signal reconstruction context
Captures sampling, calibration and processing sufficient to distinguish acquired evidence from derived views.
- What sampling frequency, amplitude calibration and acquisition filter settings apply to each channel group? measurement
- Which filtering, resampling, rereferencing or artifact-removal operations produced this view, and is the original acquired signal available? provenance
Physiological and event context Connects the EEG timeline to participant state and observed or induced events.
The same apparent activity may have different significance across states and event contexts.
Participant state timeline
Records relevant state changes and contextual influences during acquisition.
State-supported intervals
Associates recording intervals with documented physiological state and its evidential basis.
- Which intervals are annotated as awake, drowsy, asleep, sedated or otherwise state-qualified? measurement
- What observations support those state labels, and what medication, sleep deprivation or other relevant context was documented? provenance
Event synchronisation
Aligns EEG with stimuli, participant actions, reported episodes and auxiliary recordings.
Time-linked events
Preserves event timing, origin and alignment uncertainty without assuming temporal association establishes causation.
- When did documented eye opening, stimulation, activation procedures, behavioural events or reported episodes occur? measurement
- How were event markers, video and auxiliary channels synchronised with EEG, and what timing uncertainty remains? provenance
Signal integrity and coverage Determines which portions of the recording can support the intended assessment.
Recorded duration alone does not establish adequate cerebral signal or coverage of the relevant states and events.
Artifact and channel status
Identifies technical failures and non-cerebral contributions at channel and interval level.
Contamination and failure evidence
Records suspected artifact, signal loss and the evidence used to distinguish them from cerebral activity.
- Which channels and intervals contain suspected ocular, muscular, cardiac, movement, electrode or electrical interference? measurement
- What signal relationships, auxiliary channels or technical observations support each artifact or channel-failure label? provenance
Purpose-specific usability
Assesses usable evidence against the stated study question.
Usable evidence and gaps
Separates usable intervals from missing or compromised coverage and identifies appropriate technical follow-up.
- How much usable EEG remains for each required state, event type and channel region after documented exclusions? measurement
- Which gaps warrant electrode correction, additional annotation, repeat acquisition or explicit limitation of the proposed analysis? action
Observations, interpretation and use Links descriptions and conclusions to EEG evidence and controls their readiness for downstream use.
An observed waveform, an automated detection and a reviewed clinical interpretation carry different evidential status.
EEG pattern evidence
Captures background activity and candidate events as inspectable observations.
Described patterns and events
Records temporal and spatial pattern descriptions with supporting intervals and explicit uncertainty.
- What frequency, amplitude, morphology, distribution, symmetry, evolution or reactivity characterises each recorded observation? measurement
- Which signal intervals, derivations and observer or algorithm outputs support the description, including any uncertainty in its classification? provenance
Review and downstream decisions
Separates technical descriptions from reviewed conclusions and purpose-specific permissions.
Interpretation readiness
Records review responsibility, unresolved alternatives and the scope of actions supported by the current evidence.
- Who or what produced and reviewed the interpretation, and which conclusions remain provisional, disputed or limited by the recording? provenance
- Given the study purpose, review status and applicable authorisation, may this EEG be analysed, shared, used in a report or routed for further review? action
What the second pass must settle
- Does the registry intend electroencephalography to include intracranial EEG and electrocorticography, or should these be linked specialisations under separate registered entries?
- Which EEG terminology and acquisition standards should govern pattern labels, electrode conventions and adequacy criteria for each intended use?
- How should continuous monitoring be divided into study units while preserving configuration changes, interruptions and successive interpretations?
- Where should derived products such as quantitative EEG, evoked responses and brain-computer interface features become separately modelled things?
- Which clinical, research and operational contexts require particular reviewer qualifications or authorisations before automated observations can support downstream action?