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In the recently published book, Neurofeedback and Neuromodulation Techniques and Applications, Jack Johnstone and Joy Lunt discuss the use of quantitative EEG to predict therapeutic outcome in neuropsychiatric disorders.

The thesis of their chapter is that recording and analysis of EEG signals can be used in more productive ways than to identify and categorize behavioral disorders. More recent applications of EEG have been directed toward prediction of outcome of therapeutic intervention. Here we review use of EEG to guide interventions using medication, neurofeedback, and transcranial magnetic stimulation.

Clinical electroencephalography (EEG) typically involves visual examination of multichannel waveform displays by an experienced clinician, usually a neurologist, to detect and characterize seizure disorders and encephalopathies. EEG is the technique of choice for this purpose because it is noninvasive and cost-effective. Further, EEG provides sub-millisecond time resolution so that changes in neurophysiological activity can be studied in detail over time, far exceeding the time resolution available with other functional neuroimaging measures such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), single positron emission tomography (SPECT), and positron emission tomography (PET). A large body of work documents the general acceptance of EEG in the medical literature (for a comprehensive review see Niedermeyer & Lopes da Silva, 2004).