Periodic and aperiodic changes to cortical EEG in response to pharmacological manipulation

Neuropsychiatric illness may be associated with altered excitation/inhibition balance. A single electroencephalogram (EEG) parameter, the aperiodic exponent of power spectra, may predict the ratio between excitation and inhibition. Here, we use cortical EEGs in mice to evaluate this hypothesis, using pharmacological manipulations of known mechanism. We show that the aperiodic exponent of EEG power spectra is not a reliable marker of excitation/inhibition ratio. Thus, alternative markers of this ratio must be sought.