Book Review

Fisch & Spehlmann’s EEG Primer: Basic principlesof digital and analog EEG 3rd Edition. Bruce J. Fisch.Elsevier, Amsterdam 1999, 642 pp, Price: $70.00

The ever forward-moving world of information andtechnology can have had no greater impact on any spe-ciality that it has had within clinical neurophysiologyover the last 10 years. This new edition of Fisch andSpehlmann’s EEG Primer builds on the foundation es-tablished by its predecessors as a useful handbook formany professionals entering the field of clinical neuro-physiology. The 3rd edition maintains the tradition ofproviding a comprehensive summary of the current useand role of electroencephalography, ranging from issuesinvolved in data acquisition to those of interpretation ofnormal and abnormal recordings.

Sections on the sources of EEG activity recorded atthe scalp, as well as on the practicalities involved inacquiring and interpreting EEG data are similar to thosein earlier editions but with much updated information,especially on digital methodology, including data acqui-sition and storage, signal analysis, and topographic map-ping. The description of normal and abnormal patternsseen in both adults and children is abbreviated but ad-equate; more visual examples would enhance the text.The author’s approach to the use of EEG in epilepsy willbe criticized by some. As in previous editions, EEG find-ings in epilepsy are considered mainly in relation to

seizure type, and it would have been helpful to includemore discussion on EEG features helpful in establish-ing types of epilepsy (epilepsy syndromes). At the veryleast, a more complete summary of the most recent ILAEclassification would emphasize the importance of accu-rate EEG interpretation and the integration of electro-physiological and clinical findings in making a syn-dromic diagnosis. The appendix includes the recordingguidelines of the American Clinical NeurophysiologySociety guidelines. These will obviously be of greatestuse to clinicians and laboratories in the United States,although they will also serve as useful examples for writ-ing guidelines in departments in other countries. Theaddition of international guidelines might be consideredin the future.

Minor reservations aside, I have no doubt that thisbook will continue to be a helpful and much used intro-ductory textbook of clinical neurophysiology, not onlyfor trainees but also for practicing clinicians who areinterested in updating their knowledge quickly. It de-serves a place in any neurology or neurophysiology de-partment. Perhaps the author will consider pairing thenext edition with a comprehensive EEG atlas, preferablyon CD-ROM.

Helen CrossLondon, U.K.

Epilepsia,42(2):287, 2001Blackwell Science, Inc.© International League Against Epilepsy

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