Effects of Blinks and Eyelid Closure on the EEG

Background: Identification and rejection of eye-related artefacts is important in the interpretation of clinical EEGs. Typical eye-blink artefacts with prominent downward deflection in the most anterior channel and a rapid amplitude fall-off posteriorly are traditionally explained by an upward rotation of the eyeball during lid closure. However, there are no reliable data about the contribution of lid and eyeball movements to the generation of these artefacts. The goal of the present study was to correlate eye and lid movements with EEG potentials using search coils in a magnetic field. Methods: Two healthy male…