Relative Spectral Load and Cross-Band Coupling in Scalp EEG: A Signal- Level Working Hypothesis

Scalp EEG is routinely decomposed into canonical frequency bands (delta, theta, alpha, beta, gamma).These bands are often treated as semi-independent features. A simpler signal-level hypothesis is that bandpowers can behave as coupled relative loads on a shared ongoing background, so that condition changesredistribute spectral weight rather than only raising or lowering isolated peaks. This short note states thathypothesis without psychological or metaphysical interpretation, lists falsifiable predictions, and outlinesminimal analyses—relative band power, envelope correlation, and optional cross-frequency coupling—suitable for small-N or self-pilot EEG. The aim is technical evaluation of the energy-interaction claimonly