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Again about the Fine Structure of the α Rhythm of Human EEG: Two Spectral Components in the Resting State

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Abstract

In order to study the fine structure of the EEG α frequency band in the resting state, two-minute segments of baseline EEG derived from symmetrical frontal, central, parietal, and occipital areas of 16 male subjects were analyzed by Fast Fourier Transform by successively increasing the analysis epoch from 2 to 20 s with 0.5-s steps. It was shown that the EEG α band at rest is a heterogeneous complex of two independent components that differ in the frequency, on average, by 0.9 ± 0.2 Hz. These components can exist in the Fourier spectrum either simultaneously or independently of each other, which is determined by experimentally-induced and natural shifts in the functional state of the system. Doublets of these components can be located on the frequency axis in any part of the α range. This finding does not allow the a prioridivision of the α band into the classical α1, α2, etc. subbands.

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Bondar', A.T., Fedotchev, A.I. Again about the Fine Structure of the α Rhythm of Human EEG: Two Spectral Components in the Resting State. Human Physiology 27, 398–404 (2001). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010998316439

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