Written for patients: what the scan can and cannot answer, the radiation involved, what to tell the team beforehand, and what the radiologist's report will say.

What Neuro shows

Function rather than structure — how the brain, the nerves and the muscles are working electrically. An EEG records the brain's own rhythms through electrodes on the scalp and shows disturbances of activity, above all the discharges associated with epilepsy. A nerve conduction study measures how fast and how strongly a signal travels along a peripheral nerve, which is how a trapped, damaged or diseased nerve is found and localised. Neither pictures anatomy: they cannot show a tumour, a bleed, a slipped disc or a patch of demyelination, and those structural questions belong to MRI or CT of the brain and spine. In practice the two are complementary — the electrical test says which nerve or which region is misbehaving, and the scan says why.

How it works, and what it feels like

For an EEG, around twenty small metal discs are attached to the scalp with a conductive paste. Nothing is injected and nothing passes into you — the electrodes only listen. You lie still with your eyes closed for most of the recording, and are usually asked to breathe deeply for a few minutes and to look at a flashing light, because both can bring out abnormal activity that a resting trace hides. A nerve conduction study feels quite different: a small electrical pulse is delivered through the skin over a nerve and the response is picked up further along it, so the speed and size of the signal can be measured. The pulses feel like a sharp tap or a brief jolt — uncomfortable for a second, not harmful. Where a needle study of the muscle is added, a fine needle electrode is inserted to listen to the muscle at rest and while you contract it gently.

Safety and radiation

No ionising radiation and no magnetic field. An EEG only records what your brain is already producing, and a nerve conduction study delivers pulses far below any level that could injure a nerve. There is nothing to recover from and no restriction afterwards. Two specific points are worth knowing. The flashing light used during an EEG can provoke a seizure in the small number of people with photosensitive epilepsy — that is a recognised, deliberately supervised part of the test, done with staff present who stop it immediately, and you should say beforehand if flashing lights have ever triggered an episode. And where the neurological workup includes an MRI, the whole of the MRI safety set applies to that scan, not to the electrical tests.

Who should not have a Neuro scan

Tell the team before your scan if any of these apply

Implants and metal, where the workup includes an MRI: An EEG or nerve conduction study has no magnet, but a brain or spine MRI ordered alongside it does — and the magnet is always on. A cardiac pacemaker or defibrillator, any implanted electronic device, a ferromagnetic aneurysm clip or coil, a cochlear implant, a neurostimulator, a programmable shunt valve or a metallic foreign body in the eye must all be declared before that scan is booked. Bring the device card. The full screening list is on the MRI page and it is not a formality.
Claustrophobia, or an inability to lie still: This applies to the MRI part of a neurological workup rather than to the electrical tests, where you sit or lie on an open couch. Say so in advance: a wide-bore scanner, a different position, music, a companion in the room or medication arranged with your doctor all work better than an abandoned scan.
Children, and sedation: A young child who cannot stay still for an MRI, or cooperate with an EEG, may need sedation or a general anaesthetic, or a sleep-deprived protocol timed around a nap. That is arranged in advance with a paediatrician or anaesthetist, and the fasting instructions given for it must be followed exactly. Never plan a sedated study on the day.
Implanted electrical devices, for a nerve conduction study: Pacemakers, defibrillators and implanted stimulators need declaring before a nerve conduction study so that stimulation is kept away from the device and its leads and the study is done under the appropriate protocol. External cardiac pacing wires and indwelling central lines matter for the same reason. This is a matter of how the test is performed, not usually a reason to refuse it.
Blood thinners, if a needle muscle study is planned: A needle EMG puts a fine electrode into muscle, so warfarin, the newer oral anticoagulants, aspirin, other antiplatelet drugs, a known bleeding disorder or a low platelet count all need declaring in advance. Do not stop any of them yourself — the neurologist decides, and often the study goes ahead unchanged.
Preparation that decides whether the test works at all: For an EEG, come with clean, dry hair and no oil, gel, serum or spray — electrodes cannot make electrical contact through a product film, and the appointment is wasted. Recent scalp surgery, an open wound or an active scalp infection should be mentioned before booking. For a nerve conduction study, skip moisturiser and lotion on the arms and legs that day and keep the limbs warm on the way in, because cold skin genuinely slows conduction and can make a healthy nerve look abnormal. And never stop anti-epileptic medication before an EEG unless the neurologist who requested it has specifically told you to.

When a Neuro is ordered

A first seizure, or suspected epilepsy needing classification
Blackouts and episodes of altered awareness
Confusion or reduced consciousness of unclear cause
Numbness, tingling, burning or weakness in the hands or feet
Suspected carpal tunnel syndrome and other trapped nerves
Diabetic and other peripheral neuropathies
Sciatica and suspected nerve-root compression
Nerve injury after trauma or surgery, and suspected muscle disease

Contrast and preparation

Neither test uses contrast, dye or any injection at all, and neither needs fasting. The preparation that matters is different in kind — clean dry hair with no product for an EEG, no lotion and warm limbs for a nerve conduction study, and your usual medication taken exactly as the requesting neurologist instructed. If an MRI has been requested as part of the same workup, that scan may use a gadolinium contrast agent and carries its own preparation.

What your report will cover

An EEG report describes the background rhythm and whether it is normal for your age, its symmetry, any slowing and where it sits, and any epileptiform discharge — spikes or sharp waves — with the region it arises from, along with how the trace responded to deep breathing and to the flashing light. It will normally state plainly that a normal EEG recorded between events does NOT exclude epilepsy, which is one of the most commonly misread lines in medicine. A nerve conduction report gives, for each nerve tested, the conduction velocity, the size of the response and the latency against reference values, and concludes with a pattern: whether the problem lies in the nerve's insulation or its fibres, whether it is localised to one point such as the wrist, and whether it affects one nerve, several, or all of them symmetrically.

How it works

The path from booking to results

Book in the app

Choose your tests, pick a slot that works, and pay when it suits you.

We come to you

A phlebotomist visits home at your chosen time — or drop by a partner lab instead.

Processed at an NABL lab

Every sample is handled at one of our accredited labs, tracked end to end.

Report + doctor review

Your digital report lands with a complimentary read-through from a doctor.

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All assessments

EEG (Electroencephalogram)

Nerve Conduction Study (NCV)

Neuro — what it shows, and who it is not for