Electroencephalographic correlates of blood flow and oxygen metabolism provided by positron emission tomography in patients with cerebral infarction.

Quantitative EEG data were analyzed statistically with respect to cortical cerebral blood flow (CBF) and oxygen metabolism (CMRO2) measured by positron emission tomography in 47 patients with unilateral cerebral infarction. Relative value of the square root of average power was used as a percentage power fraction (PPF) for each frequency category. Power ratio index (PRI) was calculated by dividing the combined delta-PPF and theta-PPF by the combined alpha-PPF and beta-PPF. Delta-PPF, theta-PPF and PRI correlated negatively with regional CBF (rCBF) and CMRO2 (rCMRO2) whereas alpha-PPF and beta-PPF correlated positively. In the acute stage, delta-PPF, alpha-PPF and PRI correlated with rCBF at all but the frontopolar region whereas the correlation with rCMRO2 was poor. Alpha-PPF and PRI correlated also with rCMRO2 in the frontal, central, parietal and occipital regions while delta-PPF correlated with rCBF only in the parietal and occipital regions in the subacute stage. In the chronic stage, all EEG quotients correlated significantly with both rCBF and CMRO2 in the central and parietal regions. In the frontopolar region, only the theta-PPF correlated with rCBF throughout. In the comparison of hemispheric mean values, the correlations were always closer for the affected hemisphere than for the contralateral hemisphere. Although hemispheric mean CBF and CMRO2 were significantly lower in patients with cortical infarcts on CT than in those with small subcortical infarcts, there was no significant difference in the EEG data between the 2 groups.