Avaliação do EEG de pacientes comatosos sob estimulação musical

Abstract

EEG signals are used in the widest range of diagnostics and clinical inspections, and are widely used in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) in both private and public hospitals. EEG has also been used in studies that use music therapy in neurologically normal individuals and in patients who are in a coma, in order to know what the effects of this therapy are at the neuronal level. It is also known that fast waves, such as Gamma and Supergama, have been widely studied due to the additional information they bring when analyzing brain activity. Based on these facts, this study aimed to study five EEG records performed in patients in a coma, induced by sedation, admitted to the ICU when they were under musical stimulation, the effect of changing the stimulation volume and what is the effect of trying to wake the patient by calling him by name. Subsequently, these records were analyzed quantitatively using frequency and time-frequency quantifiers, in addition to statistical analysis. The results showed that situations in which there was musical stimulation tend to have higher percentage variations than when compared to situations without stimulation (without stimulation). Another finding showed that calling the patient by name causes changes at the cortical level, mainly in the Gama and Supergama rhythms and in the temporal and parietal regions. Regarding the volume of stimulation, this did not show significant differences in any analysis employed.