Feedback regulation of the alpha electroencephalogram activity through control of the internal and external parameters

Summary Experiments with feedback stimulation triggered from the subject's electroencephalogram result in changing the sequential time series of intervals of occipital alpha and intervals of little or no alpha EEG activity. The rate of recurrence of alpha and no-alpha EEG can be changed by regulating the external feedback stimuli or by asking the subject to change his internal state. Four different paradigms were investigated and the results interpreted in terms of the hypothesis that oculomotor functions regulate the occurrence and nonoccurrence of alpha.This work was supported by NIGMS Grants 5 PO1 GM 14940-04 and GM 15006-03.Most of this research was conducted at the Perception Laboratory, Veterans' Administration Hospital, Bedford, Massachusetts, with the cooperation of Dr. Thomas B. Mulholland.