In video-EEG, you are videotaped at the same time as your EEG is recorded. The recording is carried out for a long period of time, often several days. The doctor usually views the video and EEG images side by side on a split screen. In this way the doctor can see precisely how your behavior during seizures is related to the electrical activity in your brain.

Video-EEG can be done on outpatients but it is often done in the hospital. If you are in the hospital under close supervision, it is safe to allow you to have some seizures, which the doctor can study. The doctor may reduce or even stop your seizure medicines to make seizures more likely. Other techniques include sleep deprivation, hyperventilation (very rapid or deep breathing), and exercise.

Video-EEG is most helpful in determining whether seizures with unusual features are actually epilepsy, identifying the type of seizures, and pinpointing the region of the brain where seizures begin. Locating the region precisely is essential if epilepsy surgery is being considered.

Video-EEG Tips

A lot of patients say it's boring, just sitting around the hospital day after day. So bring things to read or something else to keep you busy.

Another tip is that the clothing you bring should be things that you don't have to pull over your head. The electrodes will be glued to your scalp with collodion, the same extra-strong glue that is used for ambulatory EEG, so your head will be connected to the EEG machine for long stretches of time.

Topic Editor: Steven C. Schachter, M.D.
Last Reviewed: 11/20/03