What type of activity would you expect to see in an EEG from a patient with encephalitis?

In a patient with encephalitis, the expected EEG findings typically include generalized slowing of brain activity. This is primarily because encephalitis leads to inflammation and damage in the brain, which often disrupts the normal electrical activity. Generalized slowing on an EEG indicates that the neurons are not firing synchronously and efficiently, reflecting a diffuse impairment in brain function.

The presence of generalized slowing can manifest as a reduction in the frequency of the background rhythm, often dominated by theta and delta waves, which are indicative of a pathological process affecting the overall brain activity. This slowing is an important marker for conditions involving widespread cerebral dysfunction, such as infections like encephalitis.

High frequency beta activity, polyspike bursts, or normal background activity would not typically align with the changes observed in encephalitis. High-frequency beta activity is often associated with excitatory states like anxiety or stress, while polyspike bursts are more characteristic of specific seizure types, such as generalized epilepsy syndromes. Normal background activity would suggest an absence of pathological changes, which is not expected in the context of encephalitis, where there is evident electrical disruption.