Pampiglione, G, Harris, R, Kennedy, J · Postgraduate medical journal · 1978 · DOI
Researchers used EEG brain scans to study 36 young adults and 12 children with ME/CFS from the 1950s-1970s. They found that the brain activity patterns were slightly abnormal and varied between patients, suggesting that ME/CFS affects how the brain functions. The study suggests that future research should include regular EEG monitoring over 2-3 years to better understand these brain changes.
This study provides early objective neurophysiological evidence that ME/CFS involves measurable changes in brain electrical activity, supporting the biological basis of the disease. For patients, it validates that brain dysfunction is a real feature of ME/CFS, not purely psychological. It establishes a methodological framework for using EEG as a potential diagnostic tool in future ME/CFS research.
This study does not identify the cause of the EEG abnormalities or prove a specific mechanism of illness. The modest and variable EEG findings do not establish whether these changes are specific to ME/CFS or occur in other conditions. The lack of contemporaneous healthy controls prevents firm conclusions about whether observed patterns are definitively abnormal.
About the PEM badge: “PEM required” means post-exertional malaise was an explicit required diagnostic criterion for participant inclusion in this study — not that PEM was studied, observed, or discussed. Studies using criteria that do not require PEM (e.g. Fukuda, Oxford) are tagged “PEM not required”. How the atlas works →
The first block is for the primary paper and is the citation you should use in research work. The atlas-snapshot line only applies if you are specifically referring to this atlas’s reading of the paper on the date shown.
Primary citation
Pampiglione, G, Harris, R, & Kennedy, J (1978). Electro-encephalographic investigations in myalgic encephalomyelitis.. Postgraduate medical journal. https://doi.org/10.1136/pgmj.54.637.752
BibTeX
@article{mecfsatlas-pampiglione-1978-electro-encephalographic,
author = {Pampiglione, G and Harris, R and Kennedy, J},
title = {Electro-encephalographic investigations in myalgic encephalomyelitis.},
journal = {Postgraduate medical journal},
year = {1978},
doi = {10.1136/pgmj.54.637.752},
note = {PubMed: 746023},
url = {https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pampiglione-1978-electro-encephalographic},
}Atlas snapshot reference
ME/CFS Atlas. Generator v1 / Scanner v1.4 / policy v0.1. Accessed 2026-05-28. https://www.mecfsatlas.com/evidence/pampiglione-1978-electro-encephalographic
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