EEG stands for Electroencephalography. It is a non-invasive, widely used technique for measuring children’s brain activity. Different regions of the brain communicate with one another through the generation of very weak electrical signals. EEG taps into this form of communication by measuring these existing signals in the brain, without adding or subtracting any electrical activity.

During visits, you and your infant will wear a stretchy cap embedded with sensors like the one in this photo. A small amount of gel will be used to ensure that the sensors have a good contact with you/your child’s scalp. This gel is safe for both infants and adults and can be easily wiped off after the recording session. Before we start the EEG measurement we will also need to ensure that all the sensors have a good contact with the scalp. To do this, we will probe each sensor with a tiny electrical pulse that is about 10 times smaller than static electricity.

The procedure of EEG is completely safe and has been used for decades with infants. Do not worry if your infant feels some initial discomfort while wearing the EEG cap. We have a lot of experience in working with infants, and usually find that babies quickly forget about the cap once they start exploring the toys in our laboratory. Our EEG system is wireless, so you and your infant will be able to move around naturally throughout the session.

Better EEG readings are obtained when the scalp is clean. Hence, we encourage your infant to have clean, dry hair (washed the night before is fine), without any hair gels/creams/sprays etc.