OBJECTIVE: To investigate spectral analysis of electroencephalograms (EEG) for the alpha frequency band during rest and cognitive stimulation in healthy adults and individuals with mild cognitive impairment. METHOD: We analyzed 56 EEGs from 28 patients, 7 men and 21 women, 12 of whom (40%) were controls, 16 patients with mild cognitive impairment (60%). Ages ranged from 61 to 83 years. All individuals were patients in the Psycho-geriatric Out-patients Clinic of LIM-27, of the Psychiatric

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... te of the Clinicas Hospital of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo, IPq-HCFMUSP, between 2004 and 2007. Each patient underwent two exams with an interval of at least six months between them. During the exam, performed after a period of wakefulness and rest, the patients memorized series of pictures. RESULTS: Analysis of spectral potential both at rest and during the memorizing task showed no statistical differences between baseline and final recordings. CONCLUSION: Spectral analysis of EEGs showed coherent results with the clinical stability of the patients evaluated but was unable to distinguish between the control group and patients with MCI. Future studies should include a larger sample and a longer follow up.