Electroencephalographic signs of anxiety

Abstract

• 1.

  1. Among the many objective symptoms or concomitants of anxiety electroencephalographic signs are of particular interest, as they are liable to detect “abnormalities” in the functioning of the brain and thus are likely to help our understanding of the pathogenesis of this disorder.

• 2.

  2. A low output in the α-band, a poor α-organization, impaired “driving” within the α-frequencies by stroboscopic stimulation and a reduced amplitude of the contingent negative variation seem to constitute the most typical electroencephalographic symptoms.

• 3.

  3. These various signs clearly indicate a disbalance in the activity and reactivity in those neuronal systems that control the level of general and discrete vigilance.