Skip to main content
Log in

EEG differences between resting states with eyes open and closed in darkness

  • Short Communications
  • Published:
Human Physiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Transition from a resting state with eyes closed (REC) to a resting state with eyes open (REO) is associated with visible changes in EEG, which are traditionally considered to be a sign of reorganization of the brain’s activity in response to visual stimuli. The EEGs recorded in the REC and REO states in complete darkness, when the stimulatory effect of light to the eye’s retina was absent, were compared. Thirty healthy subjects participated in the study. EEG in the range of 1.5–50 Hz was recorded from nineteen zones of the head monopolarly. It was found that, under conditions of complete darkness, the REC and REO states significantly differed in their EEG spectral power and coherence in the Δ, θ, α1, α2, β1, β2 and γ frequency bands. Under experimental conditions, these changes in the EEG could not be induced by external influence to the visual system. Therefore, we suppose that they are correlates of the switching of involuntary preliminary attention from internally directed attention specific for the REC state to externally directed attention specific for the REO state.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Medvedev, S.V., Pakhomov, S.V., Rudas, M.S., et al., The Choice of Quiet Wakefulness as a Reference State for Psychological Tests, Fiziol. Chel., 1996, vol. 22, no. 1, p. 5.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Raichle, M.E., MacLeod, A.M., Snyder, A.Z., et al., A Default Mode of Brain Function, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 2001, vol. 98, no. 2, p. 676.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Gusnard, D.A. and Raichle, M.E., Searching for a Baseline: Functional Imaging and the Resting Human Brain, Nat. Rev. Neurosci., 2001, vol. 2, no. 10, p. 685.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Marx, E., Stephan, T., Nolte, A., et al., Eye Closure in Darkness Animates Sensory Systems, Neuroimage, 2003, vol. 19, no. 3, p. 924.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Marx, E., Deutschlander, A., Stephan, T., et al., Eyes Open and Eyes Closed as Rest Conditions: Impact on Brain Activation Patterns, Neuroimage, 2004, vol. 21, no. 4, p. 1818.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Berger, H., Uber das Elektrenkephalogramm des Menschen, Arch. Psychiatr. Nervenkr., 1929, vol. 87, p. 527.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Kaminskaya, G.T., Osnovy elektroentsefalografii, (Principles of Electroencephalography), Moscow, Izd-vo MGU, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Niedermeyer, E., The normal EEG of the Waking Adult, in Electroencephalography. Basic Principles, Clinical Applications, and Related Fields, Niedermeyer, E., Lopes da Silva, F.H., Eds., London: Williams and Wilkins, 1995, p. 149.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Danko, S.G., Bechtereva, N.P., and Boitsova, J.A., Two Different Forms of Human Cortex Homeostasis in Awake Rest States as Reflected in EEG Local and Spatial Synchronizations, Book of Abstracts Int. C.I.A.N.S. Conf., Bratislava, 2005, p. 34.

  10. Danko, S.G., The Reflection of Different Aspects of Brain Activation in the Electroencephalogram: Quantitative Electroencephalography of the States of Rest with the Eyes Open and Closed, Fiziol. Chel., 2006, vol. 32, no. 4, p. 5.

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Boytsova, Yu.A. and Danko, S.G., Comparison of the Quantitative Characteristics of Ultraslow Phasic Activity of the Brain and the EEG in the States of Quiet Wakefulness with the Eyes Open and Closed, Fiziol. Chel., 2007, vol. 33, no. 2, p. 134.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Additional information

Original Russian Text © Yu.A. Boytsova, S.G. Danko, 2010, published in Fiziologiya Cheloveka, 2010, Vol. 36, No. 3, pp. 138–141.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Boytsova, Y.A., Danko, S.G. EEG differences between resting states with eyes open and closed in darkness. Hum Physiol 36, 367–369 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119710030199

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119710030199

Key words

Navigation