2017: Special Forum: Artifact Identification of the Raw EEG: Potential Confound in QEEG analyses and Neurofeedback Protocols

This forum is focused on the review process of raw EEG for the purposes of artifact removal and identifying clinically relevant paroxysmal events that may confound the clinical interpretation of brain function that may lead to erroneous or incomplete therapeutic considerations. The first part of this session will offer a review over the use of Independent Component Analyses (ICA) used by many qEEG analytic systems for the purposes of removing artifact from the EEG record prior to quantitative analyses of the remaining digital information. There has been some controversy about the use of this technique and whether or not it results in “distorted” information particularly in the calculation of phase information. Drs. Kropotov and Thatcher will speak regarding regarding the pros and cons respectively of such a method in a forum so that attendees can learn and decide how to regard such information. Dr. Kerasidis will present a brief review of clinically epileptiform and non-epileptiform events that are often rejected in the process of artifact removal but should have further study by a qualified neurologist to determine the need for possible additional interventions or consideration.