The integral and individual-scale wavelet entropy of electroencephalogram (EEG) were employed to investigate the information complexity in EEG and to explore the dynamic mechanism of child absence epilepsy (CAE). The digital EEG signals were collected from patients with CAE and normal controls. Time-frequency features were extracted by continuous wavelet transformation. Individual scale power spectrum characteristics were represented by wavelet-transform. The integral and individual-scale wavelet entropy of EEG were computed on the basis of individual scale power spectrum. The evolutions of wavelet entropy across ictal EEG of CAE were investigated and compared with normal controls. The integral wavelet entropy of ictal EEG is lower than inter-ictal EEG for CAE, and it also lower than normal controls. The individual-scale wavelet entropies of 12th scale (centered at 3 Hz) of ictal EEG in CAE was significantly higher than normal controls. The individual-scale wavelet entropies for α band (centered at 10 Hz) of ictal EEG in CAE were much lower than normal controls. The integral wavelet entropy of EEG can be considered as a quantitative parameter of complexity for EEG signals. The complexity of ictal EEG for CAE is obviously declined in CAE. The wavelet entropies declined could become quantitative electrophysiological parameters for epileptic seizures, and it also could provide a theoretical basis for the study of neuromodulation techniques in epileptic seizures.
