Clinical Neurophysiology

The clinical neurophysiology laboratory at LSU Health Sciences Center will serve as the resident’s “training grounds” in learning to interpret of electroencephalograms, nerve conduction studies/electromyograms and evoked potentials. Currently the laboratory performs about 1,000 EEG’s, 400-500 EMG’s and about 20-30 EP’s each calendar year. Instruction in basic neurophysiology and anatomical substrates of EEG, EMG and EP’s and the indications for performance of these tests will form the core curriculum leading proper interpretation of these clinical studies. The resident will learn to recognize normal EEG patterns in infants, children and adults as well as to recognize abnormal patterns and their clinical significance. In the EMG lab, the resident will learn the normal parameters of nerve conduction studies and needle electrode exam of infants, children and adults. The trainee will learn to recognize abnormal patterns of nerve conduction and EMG and to correlate findings with clinical conditions affecting the neuromuscular and peripheral nervous systems. The trainee will learn the principles and techniques in recording and interpreting evoked potential studies.

This basic knowledge of clinical neurophysiology should be helpful in further diagnostic studies in sleep disorders and epilepsy and in intraoperative monitoring.