QUANTITATIVE EEG EFFECTS OF NICOTINE REPLACEMENT BY CIGARETTE-SMOKING

The effects of cigarette smoking on the central nervous system can be assessed directly using the electroencephalogram (EEG), Nicotine withd rawal and subsequent replacement have been studied, but have produced conflicting effects on brain electrical activity, We studied the effec t of smoking 2 cigarettes at subjects' own pace in 20 subjects. EEG wa s recorded using the EEGSYS program in the eyes-closed awake state usi ng a bipolar montage. Delta power decreased in central-posterior head regions. Theta power and power in the lower half of the alpha band dec reased. Beta power and power in the upper half of the alpha band incre ased significantly over frontotemporal head regions. Examination of sp ectra underlying the usual frequency bands revealed that many effects of smoking on EEG power probably resulted from a shift of the overall power spectrum toward higher frequencies, rather than resulting from a lterations in activity in specific frequency bands.