HANS BERGER ON THE ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM OF MAN Supplement 28 : Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology

HANS BERGER ON THE ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAM OF MAN Supplement 28: Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology. Translated and edited by Pierre Gloor. (Pp. xi+ 350; illustrated; 215s.). Elsevier: Amsterdam. 1969. To anyone who has studied electroencephalography exclusively in the English-speaking countries, this book fills a significant gap in the study of the history of the subject which has hitherto been, if not shrouded in mystery, at least dismissed as ofno particular importance. Not only is it refreshing to read descriptions of the EEG described from a standpoint of total naivete ('a current exhibiting considerable oscillations is present at all times', but also it is of value to follow Berger's methods, which are very different from the traditional English approach. We note almost with a sense of shock: 'on the basis of my own investigations I must therefore resolutely disagree with the assertion made by Adrian and Mathews that the EEG is absent in the blind'. (By 'EEG' Berger here means what we should today refer to as alpha rhythm.) For the reviewer, the main interest in these collected translations has not so much been to discover what Berger demonstrated; this is well enough known, but more to discover what he did not demonstrate. For example, 'the experiments were initially unsuccessful and only when the two clay electrodes were placed 4 cm apart in the vicinity of a scar running vertically from above downwards through the middle of the enlarged trephine opening, was it possible with large magnifications to obtain continuous oscillations of the galvanometer string'. We can sympathize with Berger when he discusses the difficulties of recording from intact skin which 'according to the studies carried out by Einthoven, and especially by Gildenmeister, creates very complicated electrical conditions which are not easily comprehended'. A sentence which remains true to this day! The illustrations from the very first paper of some of the single channel EEGs, usually recorded together with an electrocardiogram, would not cause any particular comment if published today. Berger's scientific quality is well demonstrated in the first few papers by the very careful studies which he undertook and presents, with the aim of establishing that the phenomena are in fact arising from the brain and are not due to blood flow in the scalp or cerebral vessels, or to fine tremulous movements or other artefacts. A recurring theme throughout the series of papers is Berger's surprise at the fact that the recorded electrical activity appears to decrease upon sensory stimulation, rather than to increase, as he would have predicted. This finding is hinted at in the first report, and is discussed in detail in the second. The very last sentence of the last report returns again to emphasize 'the decrease in the amplitude of the potential oscillations of the human brain' which occurs in association with active conscious activity. This book contains (as its sub-title says) the 14 original reports on the human electroencephalogram. It is well produced with excellent copies of the illustrations. The translation is always readable, although it does reflect the complexity which must have characterized the German text. There is an introduction by Pierre Gloor who is professor of clinical neurophysiology at Magill University, Montreal, Canada, which contains a fascinating brief biography of Hans Berger, and fills in a good deal of his background and the milieu in which he worked and which, more than anything else, helps to make the papers come alive. In summary, this book is to be recommended to all serious students of electroencephalography who will find it rewarding, although to read it thoroughly is no light undertaking. It is to be recommended also to all those interested in the history of what must be almost a unique achievement in the application of scientific methods to clinical material by a clinician who was seeking, above all, to further 'the proper study of mankind'.