Neuroscience is the study of the nervous system, including the brain, the spinal cord and peripheral nerves. The skilled technicians and medical specialists in the Metro Health Neuroscience Department provide testing to help diagnose and treat conditions that affect the nervous system. Our diagnostic procedures determine if a patient might be suffering from a neurological disorder such as epilepsy, a pinched nerve or a muscle disease.
The three main tests we provide are the electroencephalogram (EEG), the electromyogram (EMG) and the evoked potential (EP) study.
Electroencephalogram (EEG)
An EEG measures the electrical activity of your brain. Special discs called electrodes are attached to your head and hooked by wires to a computer, which records your brain's electrical activity. The EEG is commonly used to diagnose epilepsy and see what types of seizures are occurring. It is also used to check for problems regarding loss of consciousness, confusion or dementia.
Electromyogram (EMG) & Nerve Conduction Studies
An (EMG) measures the electrical activity of muscles at rest and during contraction. Nerve conduction studies measure how well and how fast the nerves can send electrical signals. Nerves control the muscles in the body through electrical impulses that make muscles react in specific ways. Nerve and muscle disorders like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or muscular dystrophy cause the muscles to react in abnormal ways. Testing can find the cause of weakness, numbness or muscle twitching, which could be the result of problems in a muscle, the nerves supplying a muscle, the spinal cord, or the area of the brain that controls a muscle.
Evoked Potential Test
An evoked potential test measures the electrical signals sent to the brain when nerves are stimulated. These are called evoked responses. The most common types of evoked potential tests are visual, auditory (hearing) and somatosensory, which refers to the pathway of nerve impulses between the limbs and the brain. Evoked potential tests can be used to diagnose diseases of the central nervous system, such as multiple sclerosis. They are also used to diagnose hearing loss, vision loss caused by optic nerve damage, and to test brain response in infants and abnormal electrical discharges in people undergoing spinal surgery.