Bickford, Reginald G.

A study was made of the electroencephalograms of 50 children who had proved neoplasms of the brain. In 9 of 12 children who had tumors of the cerebral cortex, the localization afforded by the EEG was correct. In 8 children who had supratentorial tumors of or near the brain stem no localizing or consistent electroencephalographic pattern was observed. In 21 (70%) of 30 children who had tumors of the posterior fossa a bilateral abnormality was observed in the EEG recorded from the occipital region or occipital and contiguous regions. It is acknowledged that the abnormality found in this last group also is found occasionally in conditions other than in brain tumors of the posterior fossa. These conditions usually can be excluded by use of the history and other laboratory aids. Electroencephalography in the study of brain tumors in children should not be considered as an infallible test but rather as a diagnostic aid to be used and evaluated with the help of a clinical history and other diagnostic and laboratory aids.

A study is reported in which the cortical responses to monocular and binocular scanning of patterned stimuli, both simple and complex, were recorded. In particular, the computer-summated parieto-occipital potentials, time-locked to eye movement (the lambda response), were used. No over-all asymmetries appeared between the hemispheres, whether the scanning was monocular or binocular, although responses were in general of greater amplitude for binocular than for monocular scanning. However, there were individual and other differences which were thought to be related to complex parameters of the lambda response itself.