A facial topographic profile of rapid eye movements anticipatory phasic potentials

Rapid eye movements anticipatory phasic potentials (RAPPs) are spike-like potentials in electroencephalograms (EEG), monopolarly observed just preceding rapid eye movements (REMs) during REM sleep, which shows negative in the frontal and positive in the occipital areas. In this study, we measured EEG at various locations on the facial areas to analyze detail topographic profiles of RAPPs in relation to their source location in humans. It was found that the amplitude in the facial area was maximal at the nasion and at lower orbital margins of the eye. The amplitude recorded in the cheek and chin decreased monotonically as the distance from the recording site to the eyes increased. These results suggest that the source of RAPPs would be modeled as a dipole inside the head.