LAMINAR CORTICAL BLOCKING AND ITS RELATION TO EPISODIC AGGRESSIVE OUTBURSTS

Abstract

IN A PREVIOUS report evidence was presented to the effect that the EEG response pattern evoked by auditory stimulation during sleep in man is characteristically distorted in the presence of organic brain pathology. Two factors may play a role in the determination of the characteristics of the response pattern: (1) the presence of organic cortical damage and (2) changes in cortical excitability. We are now reporting observations on an abnormal response pattern evoked by auditory stimulation during sleep in patients with episodic psychopathic behavior, in whom it may be inferred that the second factor, that of transient change of cortical excitability of a functional nature, is primarily at play. Experimental data in support of this assumption will be presented in this report. CLINICAL EEG STUDIES The normal response pattern evoked by auditory stimulation during sleep in man, as revealed by scalp-to-ear EEG recording, consists of two components: (1) a slow-wave