EEG Brain Wave Recording — Setting the Stage for Your Personalized Brain Care

When we say that no two people are alike, we’re referring to physical attributes, sure, but where we really separate ourselves into unique individuals is through our brains. This 3-pound organ dictates everything from your intelligence to your personality and governs most areas of your health, including your physical and mental health.

Unfortunately, Americans are increasingly challenged by mental health issues and brain dysfunction as 1 in 5 adults are affected by mental illness. 

With the rise in mental health issues and the increasing understanding that there’s no such thing as a one-size-fits-all answer for brain health, Dr. Julie Kim and nurse practitioner Kayleigh Prowse promote far more personalized solutions here at Braincare Performance Center - Cardiff. In fact, before we embark on any treatment, we always start with a brain wave recording — a quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) — which allows us to map your brain.

Here’s a look at what you can expect during your brain wave recording (spoiler alert — the process is noninvasive and very easy!).

Basic brain function

To better explain why we map your brain using a qEEG, let’s quickly review basic brain function. Your brain is your command center and it’s at the heart of your central nervous system. Your brain is divided into two hemispheres that each contain four lobes — frontal, parietal, occipital, and temporal — and each controls different functions in your body.

For overall communication, your brain relies on billions of neurons — cells that relay messages inside the brain, as well as back and forth from your brain to your body. Your brain also relies on neurotransmitters for communication, which are chemicals that are passed between nerve fibers and your body.

It’s these chemical and electrical signals that we want to investigate during your brain wave recording.

Mapping your brain through brain wave recording

As the name suggests, a brain wave recording does just that — records the brain wave activity in your brain. With a qEEG, we use sensitive electrodes that pick up electrical impulses across your brain to look for any abnormal activity.

During your brain wave recording, we may ask you to relax, and stay alert. All the while, we record the electrical activity in your brain to see how it responds and whether there are some imbalances in the neural pathways that have formed.

We can also locate dormant or less active areas of your brain, as well as overactive areas, so we can figure out where to bring more balance.

Preparing for your brain wave recording

The great news is that your brain wave recording is noninvasive and completely painless. When you come in, we get you comfortable and we place an EEG recording device on your head. We do ask that you arrive with clean, dry hair and that you  go easy on any hair products so that we may get the cleanest data.

It only takes 10-minutes to gather the information we need with the qEEG and you’re free to get on with your day afterward.

For our part, we analyze our findings and then devise the best plan moving forward for improving your brain health and function, which we share with you 48 hours later at a follow up Zoom visit..

If you have more questions about our EEG  Brainwave Recording or our personalized neuromodulation, please call our office at 858-306-1070 or request an appointment online today.