Electroencephalogram and sleep deprivation

¹ Department of Experimental Psychology, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Walter Reed Army Medical Center, Washington, D. C.

The occipital alpha rhythm was recorded from 10 subjects before, during and after a 98-hour period of sleep deprivation. The alpha rhythm declined progressively and was nearly absent in most subjects after 50 hours of deprivation. At every stage of deprivation the alpha activity was smaller during counting as compared to adding numbers. Stimuli that normally produce alpha block were found to elicit alpha rhythm when the effects of deprivation were apparent. Following deprivation alpha recovered rapidly and within 24 hours was essentially normal.