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Scho S, Brüchle W, Schneefeld J, Rosenkranz K. Enhancing neuroplasticity in major depression: A novel 10 Hz-rTMS protocol is more effective than iTBS. J Affect Disord 2024; 367:109-117. [PMID: 39187195 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.08.166] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2024] [Revised: 07/25/2024] [Accepted: 08/23/2024] [Indexed: 08/28/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is an effective treatment in major depressive disorder (MDD). However, intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS) and rTMS protocols using 10 Hz stimulation frequency might differ in their effect on neuroplasticity and on clinical symptoms. This study compares the effect of iTBS and a novel 10 Hz-rTMS with shortened single session duration, on motor excitability and neuroplasticity and on clinical symptoms in MDD. METHODS 30 patients with MDD received either iTBS or the novel 10 Hz-rTMS daily over three weeks to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Before and after the interventions, motor excitability, short-latency intracortical inhibition and long-term-potentiation-like plasticity in the motor cortex and clinical symptoms were measured by use of transcranial magnetic stimulation. RESULTS After the intervention, the level of neuroplasticity increased and clinical symptoms of depression were reduced in both groups, though both effects were significantly stronger after the novel 10 Hz-rTMS. Importantly, the changes in neuroplasticity and clinical symptoms were correlated: the stronger neuroplasticity increased, the stronger was the improvement of clinical symptoms. LIMITATIONS Short intervention period of 3 weeks. Clinical symptoms were measured by self-assessment only and are therefore preliminary. CONCLUSIONS The novel 10 Hz-rTMS is more effective in increasing neuroplasticity in MDD and potentially also in reducing clinical symptoms than iTBS. This might be due to a differential mode of action on neuroplasticity and to the stimulation frequency of 10 Hz (within the alpha range) being more suitable to reset the brain's activity and to support neuroplastic changes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Scho
- Ruhr-University of Bochum, Medical faculty, University clinic for psychiatry and psychotherapy, Campus East-Westphalia, Virchowstraße 65, 32312 Lübbecke, Germany
| | - Wanja Brüchle
- Ruhr-University of Bochum, Medical faculty, University clinic for psychiatry and psychotherapy, Campus East-Westphalia, Virchowstraße 65, 32312 Lübbecke, Germany.; Departmenf of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine, St. Franziskus-Hospital Münster, Hohenzollernring 72, Münster, Germany
| | - Jessica Schneefeld
- Ruhr-University of Bochum, Medical faculty, University clinic for psychiatry and psychotherapy, Campus East-Westphalia, Virchowstraße 65, 32312 Lübbecke, Germany
| | - Karin Rosenkranz
- Ruhr-University of Bochum, Medical faculty, University clinic for psychiatry and psychotherapy, Campus East-Westphalia, Virchowstraße 65, 32312 Lübbecke, Germany.; Medical School Hamburg, Am Kaiserkai 1, 20457 Hamburg, Germany; ICAN Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Medical School Hamburg, Am Kaiserkai 1, 20457 Hamburg, Germany.
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2
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Berwian IM, Tröndle M, de Miquel C, Ziogas A, Stefanics G, Walter H, Stephan KE, Huys QJM. Emotion-Induced Frontal Alpha Asymmetry as a Candidate Predictor of Relapse After Discontinuation of Antidepressant Medication. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2024; 9:809-818. [PMID: 38735534 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2024.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND One in 3 patients relapse after antidepressant discontinuation. Thus, the prevention of relapse after achieving remission is an important component in the long-term management of major depressive disorder. However, no clinical or other predictors are established. Frontal reactivity to sad mood as measured by functional magnetic resonance imaging has been reported to relate to relapse independently of antidepressant discontinuation and is an interesting candidate predictor. METHODS Patients (n = 56) who had remitted from a depressive episode while taking antidepressants underwent electroencephalography (EEG) recording during a sad mood induction procedure prior to gradually discontinuing their medication. Relapse was assessed over a 6-month follow-up period. Thirty five healthy control participants were also tested. Current source density of the EEG power in the alpha band (8-13 Hz) was extracted and alpha asymmetry was computed by comparing the power across 2 hemispheres at frontal electrodes (F5 and F6). RESULTS Sad mood induction was robust across all groups. Reactivity of alpha asymmetry to sad mood did not distinguish healthy control participants from patients with remitted major depressive disorder on medication. However, the 14 (25%) patients who relapsed during the follow-up period after discontinuing medication showed significantly reduced reactivity in alpha asymmetry compared with patients who remained well. This EEG signal provided predictive power (69% out-of-sample balanced accuracy and a positive predictive value of 0.75). CONCLUSIONS A simple EEG-based measure of emotional reactivity may have potential to contribute to clinical prediction models of antidepressant discontinuation. Given the very small sample size, this finding must be interpreted with caution and requires replication in a larger study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Isabel M Berwian
- Princeton Neuroscience Institute & Psychology Department, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey; Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Marius Tröndle
- Methods of Plasticity Research, Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Carlota de Miquel
- Research Innovation and Teaching Unit, Parc Sanitari Sant Joan de Déu, Sant Boi de Llobregat, Spain; Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental, Madrid, Spain
| | - Anastasios Ziogas
- Faculty of Psychology, University Distance Suisse, Brig, Switzerland
| | - Gabor Stefanics
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary
| | - Henrik Walter
- Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany
| | - Klaas E Stephan
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland; Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research, Cologne, Germany
| | - Quentin J M Huys
- Translational Neuromodeling Unit, Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and ETH Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Hospital of Psychiatry, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Applied Computational Psychiatry Lab, Mental Health Neuroscience Department, Division of Psychiatry and Max Planck Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Camden and Islington NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom
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3
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Park SE, Chung J, Lee J, Kim MJB, Kim J, Jeon HJ, Kim H, Woo C, Kim H, Lee SA. Digital assessment of cognitive-affective biases related to mental health. PLOS DIGITAL HEALTH 2024; 3:e0000595. [PMID: 39208388 PMCID: PMC11361731 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pdig.0000595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 07/28/2024] [Indexed: 09/04/2024]
Abstract
With an increasing societal need for digital therapy solutions for poor mental health, we face a corresponding rise in demand for scientifically validated digital contents. In this study we aimed to lay a sound scientific foundation for the development of brain-based digital therapeutics to assess and monitor cognitive effects of social and emotional bias across diverse populations and age-ranges. First, we developed three computerized cognitive tasks using animated graphics: 1) an emotional flanker task designed to test attentional bias, 2) an emotional go-no-go task to measure bias in memory and executive function, and 3) an emotional social evaluation task to measure sensitivity to social judgments. Then, we confirmed the generalizability of our results in a wide range of samples (children (N = 50), young adults (N = 172), older adults (N = 39), online young adults (N=93), and depression patients (N = 41)) using touchscreen and online computer-based tasks, and devised a spontaneous thought generation task that was strongly associated with, and therefore could potentially serve as an alternative to, self-report scales. Using PCA, we extracted five components that represented different aspects of cognitive-affective function (emotional bias, emotional sensitivity, general accuracy, and general/social attention). Next, a gamified version of the above tasks was developed to test the feasibility of digital cognitive training over a 2-week period. A pilot training study utilizing this application showed decreases in emotional bias in the training group (that were not observed in the control group), which was correlated with a reduction in anxiety symptoms. Using a 2-channel wearable EEG system, we found that frontal alpha and gamma power were associated with both emotional bias and its reduction across the 2-week training period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sang-Eon Park
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jisu Chung
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Jeonghyun Lee
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Minwoo JB Kim
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology, Ulsan, Republic of Korea
| | - Jinhee Kim
- School of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hong Jin Jeon
- Department of Psychiatry, Depression Center, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Hyungsook Kim
- Hanyang Digital Healthcare Center, Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Choongwan Woo
- Center for Neuroscience Imaging Research, Institute for Basic Science (IBS), Suwon, Republic of Korea
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Republic of Korea
- Department of Intelligent Precision Healthcare Convergence, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, Republic of Korea
| | - Hackjin Kim
- School of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Sang Ah Lee
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
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4
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Earl EH, Goyal M, Mishra S, Kannan B, Mishra A, Chowdhury N, Mishra P. EEG based functional connectivity in resting and emotional states may identify major depressive disorder using machine learning. Clin Neurophysiol 2024; 164:130-137. [PMID: 38870669 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2024.05.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2023] [Revised: 04/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/22/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Disrupted brain network connectivity underlies major depressive disorder (MDD). Altered EEG based Functional connectivity (FC) with Emotional stimuli in major depressive disorder (MDD) in addition to resting state FC may help in improving the diagnostic accuracy of machine learning classification models. We explored the potential of EEG-based FC during resting state and emotional processing, for diagnosing MDD using machine learning approach. METHODS EEG was recorded during resting state and while watching emotionally contagious happy and sad videos in 24 drug-naïve MDD patients and 25 healthy controls. FC was quantified using the Phase Lag Index. Three Random Forest classifier models were constructed to classify MDD patients and healthy controls, Model-I incorporating FC features from the resting state and Model-II and Model-III incorporating FC features while watching happy and sad videos respectively. RESULTS Important features distinguishing MDD and healthy controls were from all frequency bands and represent functional connectivity between fronto-temporal, fronto-parietal and fronto occipital regions. The cross-validation accuracies for Model-I, Model-II and Model-III were 92.3%, 94.9% and 89.7% and test accuracies were 60%, 80% and 70% respectively. Incorporating emotionally contagious videos improved the classification accuracies. CONCLUSION Findings support EEG FC patterns during resting state and emotional processing along with machine learning can be used to diagnose MDD. Future research should focus on replicating and validating these results. SIGNIFICANCE EEG FC pattern combined with machine learning may be used for assisting in diagnosing MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Estelle Havilla Earl
- Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Manish Goyal
- Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Shree Mishra
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Balakrishnan Kannan
- Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Anushree Mishra
- Department of Psychiatry, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India
| | - Nilotpal Chowdhury
- Department of Pathology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Rishikesh, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Priyadarshini Mishra
- Department of Physiology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India.
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Dell’Acqua C, Moretta T, Messerotti Benvenuti S. Reduced approach disposition in familial risk for depression: Evidence from time-frequency alpha asymmetries. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0307524. [PMID: 39047003 PMCID: PMC11268641 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/11/2024] [Accepted: 07/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Despite the promising role of alpha and delta power in reflecting reduced approach disposition in depression, to date, it is unclear whether these measures can be employed to identify at-risk individuals. Hence, the present study investigated affective disposition in 32 unaffected individuals with a family history of depression (23 F) and 30 individuals without a family history of depression (21 F) through a data-driven analysis of alpha and delta time-frequency power during the viewing of pleasant, neutral, and unpleasant pictures. Different patterns of posterior alpha asymmetry emerged within each group. Particularly, controls showed greater right posterior alpha desynchronization ~ 600 ms following emotional relative to neutral pictures presentation. Conversely, the group with a family history of depression showed greater posterior left alpha desynchronization only to unpleasant relative to neutral images in a later time window (> 900 ms). Hence, depression vulnerability seems to be characterized by a blunted reactivity to pleasant and delayed reactivity to unpleasant stimuli with a distinct posterior distribution relative to the controls. Finally, the two groups showed a comparable pattern of greater delta power to emotional relative to neutral cues. Overall, initial support was provided for the employment of time-frequency alpha power changes during affective processing in identifying blunted approach disposition in unaffected at-risk individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Tania Moretta
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Simone Messerotti Benvenuti
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Padua, Italy
- Hospital Psychology Unit, Padua University Hospital, Padua, Italy
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Rodrigues J, Müller S, Paelecke M, Wang Y, Hewig J. Exploration of the influence of the quantification method and reference scheme on feedback-related negativity and standardized measurement error of feedback-related negativity amplitudes in a trust game. Cortex 2024; 175:106-123. [PMID: 38519410 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.02.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 07/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/24/2024]
Abstract
Various approaches have been taken over the years to quantify event-related potential (ERP) responses and these approaches may vary in their utility connecting empirical research and scientific claims. In this work we compared different quantification methods as well as the influence of three reference methods (linked mastoids, average reference, and current source density) on the resulting ERP amplitude. We use the experimental effects and effect sizes (Cohen's d) to evaluate the different methodological variants and we calculate intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC). In addition, the bootstrapped standard error of the means (SME, Luck et al., 2021), which was recently suggested as a quality criterion for ERP research, is used for this purpose. Our example for an ERP is the feedback-related negativity (FRN) to feedback about trustee behavior in a trust game with participants in the trustor position. We found that the quantification methods concerning the FRN influenced the absolute value of condition effects in the experimental paradigm. Yet, the patterns of effects were detected by all chosen methods, except for the 'individual difference wave'-based peak window approach. In addition, our findings stress the importance of checking the reference electrodes concerning effects of the experimental conditions. Furthermore, interactions of topographical distribution and reference choice should be considered. Finally, we were able to show that the SME is lower for more datapoints that are given in the quantification period of the FRN, and higher for more negative FRN amplitudes. These biases may lead to divergence of SME and effect size detection. Therefore, if the SME was used to compare different processing choices one should consider controlling for these important aspects of the data and possibly include other quality criteria like effect sizes.
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7
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Perchtold-Stefan CM, Schertler M, Paechter M, Fink A, Weiss EM, Papousek I. Learning to be inventive in the face of statistics: A positive reappraisal intervention for statistics anxiety. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry 2024; 82:101913. [PMID: 37757655 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbtep.2023.101913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2023] [Accepted: 09/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/29/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES The burden of statistics anxiety on students calls for effective interventions. This study investigated whether a cognitive reappraisal training designed to stimulate the generation of positive re-interpretations may yield behavioral changes in anxiety measures and changes in cerebral activation patterns reflecting the activation of approach/avoidance motivational tendencies (frontal EEG alpha asymmetry response). METHODS Three groups of female psychology students (n = 45) with statistics anxiety were tested. Two groups received a guided, two-week reappraisal training with either statistics-anxiety or general anxiety situations; the control group received no intervention. RESULTS Both training groups significantly increased their amount of positive re-interpretations from pre-to post-test compared to the control group. Increased habitual use of reappraisal in statistics situations and significant EEG changes reflecting more approach-oriented coping with anxiety occurred in the statistics-anxiety training group only. No changes in statistics anxiety and statistics attitudes were observed, suggesting that the training effects, though corroborated through neurophysiological changes, did not sufficiently translate to improving students' deep-rooted anxiety. LIMITATIONS Effects, though robust and following the same pattern, were observed in a small sample. CONCLUSIONS Our findings delineate a promising expandable approach for helping students' cope with statistics anxiety in a healthier way.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Magdalena Schertler
- Center for Disability and Integration, University of St. Gallen, Switzerland
| | - Manuela Paechter
- Educational Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria
| | - Andreas Fink
- Biological Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria
| | - Elisabeth M Weiss
- Clinical Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Austria
| | - Ilona Papousek
- Biological Psychology Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Austria
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Zhang H, Zhou QQ, Chen H, Hu XQ, Li WG, Bai Y, Han JX, Wang Y, Liang ZH, Chen D, Cong FY, Yan JQ, Li XL. The applied principles of EEG analysis methods in neuroscience and clinical neurology. Mil Med Res 2023; 10:67. [PMID: 38115158 PMCID: PMC10729551 DOI: 10.1186/s40779-023-00502-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/23/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023] Open
Abstract
Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non-invasive measurement method for brain activity. Due to its safety, high resolution, and hypersensitivity to dynamic changes in brain neural signals, EEG has aroused much interest in scientific research and medical fields. This article reviews the types of EEG signals, multiple EEG signal analysis methods, and the application of relevant methods in the neuroscience field and for diagnosing neurological diseases. First, three types of EEG signals, including time-invariant EEG, accurate event-related EEG, and random event-related EEG, are introduced. Second, five main directions for the methods of EEG analysis, including power spectrum analysis, time-frequency analysis, connectivity analysis, source localization methods, and machine learning methods, are described in the main section, along with different sub-methods and effect evaluations for solving the same problem. Finally, the application scenarios of different EEG analysis methods are emphasized, and the advantages and disadvantages of similar methods are distinguished. This article is expected to assist researchers in selecting suitable EEG analysis methods based on their research objectives, provide references for subsequent research, and summarize current issues and prospects for the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Zhang
- School of Systems Science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, 100875, China
| | - Qing-Qi Zhou
- College of Electrical and Control Engineering, North China University of Technology, Beijing, 100041, China
| | - He Chen
- School of Automation Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510641, China
| | - Xiao-Qing Hu
- Department of Psychology, the State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
- HKU-Shenzhen Institute of Research and Innovation, Shenzhen, 518057, Guangdong, China
| | - Wei-Guang Li
- Department of Health Technology and Informatics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong SAR, 999077, China
| | - Yang Bai
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China
- Rehabilitation Medicine Clinical Research Center of Jiangxi Province, Nanchang, 330006, China
| | - Jun-Xia Han
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Learning and Cognition, School of Psychology, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
| | - Yao Wang
- School of Communication Science, Beijing Language and Culture University, Beijing, 100083, China
| | - Zhen-Hu Liang
- Institute of Electrical Engineering, Yanshan University, Qinhuangdao, 066004, Hebei, China.
| | - Dan Chen
- School of Computer Science, Wuhan University, Wuhan, 430072, China.
| | - Feng-Yu Cong
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, 116081, Liaoning, China.
| | - Jia-Qing Yan
- College of Electrical and Control Engineering, North China University of Technology, Beijing, 100041, China.
| | - Xiao-Li Li
- School of Automation Science and Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, 510641, China.
- Guangdong Artificial Intelligence and Digital Economy Laboratory (Guangzhou), Guangzhou, 510335, China.
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Karatygin NA, Korobeinikova II, Pertsov SS. Correlation between Cognitive Performance and Interhemispheric Asymmetry of EEG Alpha Rhythm during Lateralized Presentation of Visual Information against the Background of Optical Stimulation. Bull Exp Biol Med 2023; 175:295-299. [PMID: 37566249 DOI: 10.1007/s10517-023-05855-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 08/12/2023]
Abstract
The effect of lateralized optical stimulation with a frequency of 10 Hz on the effectiveness of cognitive task performance (n-back test) was studied in 33 healthy subjects (right-handed men). Test visual information was presented to the right or left visual hemifield under normal conditions and against the background of optical stimulation with a frequency of 10 Hz. The absolute values of the spectral power of the high (10-13 Hz) subrange of alpha-rhythm of EEG (SPα2) were calculated. When test information was sent to the right hemisphere against the background of stimulation, an increase in task performance was revealed in subjects with low SPα2. This was accompanied by an increase in SPα2 in some cortical areas of the contralateral (left) hemisphere and, as a result, an increase in left-side dominance of SPα2. The findings indicate the possibility of using lateralized optical stimulation to improve cognitive task performance, in particular, by changing the interhemispheric asymmetry of the EEG alpha2-rhythm.
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Affiliation(s)
- N A Karatygin
- P. K. Anokhin Research Institute of Normal Physiology, Moscow, Russia.
| | - I I Korobeinikova
- P. K. Anokhin Research Institute of Normal Physiology, Moscow, Russia
| | - S S Pertsov
- P. K. Anokhin Research Institute of Normal Physiology, Moscow, Russia
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10
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Tsai YC, Li CT, Juan CH. A review of critical brain oscillations in depression and the efficacy of transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1073984. [PMID: 37260762 PMCID: PMC10228658 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1073984] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) and intermittent theta burst stimulation (iTBS) have been proven effective non-invasive treatments for patients with drug-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD). However, some depressed patients do not respond to these treatments. Therefore, the investigation of reliable and valid brain oscillations as potential indices for facilitating the precision of diagnosis and treatment protocols has become a critical issue. The current review focuses on brain oscillations that, mostly based on EEG power analysis and connectivity, distinguish between MDD and controls, responders and non-responders, and potential depression severity indices, prognostic indicators, and potential biomarkers for rTMS or iTBS treatment. The possible roles of each biomarker and the potential reasons for heterogeneous results are discussed, and the directions of future studies are proposed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Chun Tsai
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, College of Health Sciences and Technology, National Central University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Ta Li
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, College of Health Sciences and Technology, National Central University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- Institute of Brain Science, National Yang-Ming Chiao-Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, National Yang-Ming Chiao-Tung University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chi-Hung Juan
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, College of Health Sciences and Technology, National Central University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
- Cognitive Intelligence and Precision Healthcare Center, National Central University, Taoyuan City, Taiwan
- Department of Psychology, Kaohsiung Medical University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
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11
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McGeary JE, Benca-Bachman CE, Risner VA, Beevers CG, Gibb BE, Palmer RHC. Associating broad and clinically defined polygenic scores for depression with depression-related phenotypes. Sci Rep 2023; 13:6534. [PMID: 37085695 PMCID: PMC10121555 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-33645-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2022] [Accepted: 04/16/2023] [Indexed: 04/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Twin studies indicate that 30-40% of the disease liability for depression can be attributed to genetic differences. Here, we assess the explanatory ability of polygenic scores (PGS) based on broad- (PGSBD) and clinical- (PGSMDD) depression summary statistics from the UK Biobank in an independent sample of adults (N = 210; 100% European Ancestry) who were extensively phenotyped for depression and related neurocognitive traits (e.g., rumination, emotion regulation, anhedonia, and resting frontal alpha asymmetry). The UK Biobank-derived PGSBD had small associations with MDD, depression severity, anhedonia, cognitive reappraisal, brooding, and suicidal ideation but only the association with suicidal ideation remained statistically significant after correcting for multiple comparisons. Similarly small associations were observed for the PGSMDD but none remained significant after correcting for multiple comparisons. These findings provide important initial guidance about the expected effect sizes between current UKB PGSs for depression and depression-related neurocognitive phenotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- John E McGeary
- Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Chelsie E Benca-Bachman
- Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA.
- Behavioral Genetics of Addiction Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
| | - Victoria A Risner
- Behavioral Genetics of Addiction Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | | | - Brandon E Gibb
- Department of Psychology State, University of New York at Binghamton, Binghamton, NY, USA
| | - Rohan H C Palmer
- Providence Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Providence, RI, USA
- Behavioral Genetics of Addiction Laboratory, Department of Psychology, Emory University, 36 Eagle Row, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
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Xie YH, Zhang YM, Fan FF, Song XY, Liu L. Functional role of frontal electroencephalogram alpha asymmetry in the resting state in patients with depression: A review. World J Clin Cases 2023; 11:1903-1917. [PMID: 36998965 PMCID: PMC10044961 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v11.i9.1903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/01/2023] [Indexed: 03/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Depression is a psychological disorder that affects the general public worldwide. It is particularly important to make an objective and accurate diagnosis of depression, and the measurement methods of brain activity have gradually received increasing attention. Resting electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha asymmetry in patients with depression shows changes in activation of the alpha frequency band of the left and right frontal cortices. In this paper, we review the findings of the relationship between frontal EEG alpha asymmetry in the resting state and depression. Based on worldwide studies, we found the following: (1) Compared with individuals without depression, those with depression showed greater right frontal EEG alpha asymmetry in the resting state. However, the pattern of frontal EEG alpha asymmetry in the resting state in depressive individuals seemed to disappear with age; (2) Compared with individuals without maternal depression, those with maternal depression showed greater right frontal EEG alpha asymmetry in the resting state, which indicated that genetic or experience-based influences have an impact on frontal EEG alpha asymmetry at rest; and (3) Frontal EEG alpha asymmetry in the resting state was stable, and little or no change occurred after antidepressant treatment. Finally, we concluded that the contrasting results may be due to differences in methodology, clinical characteristics, and participant characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Hong Xie
- Psychology College of Teacher Education, Center of Group Behavior and Social Psychological Service, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Ye-Min Zhang
- Psychology College of Teacher Education, Center of Group Behavior and Social Psychological Service, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Fan-Fan Fan
- Psychology College of Teacher Education, Center of Group Behavior and Social Psychological Service, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Xi-Yan Song
- Psychology College of Teacher Education, Center of Group Behavior and Social Psychological Service, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, Zhejiang Province, China
| | - Lei Liu
- Psychology College of Teacher Education, Center of Group Behavior and Social Psychological Service, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, Zhejiang Province, China
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Stress estimation by the prefrontal cortex asymmetry: Study on fNIRS signals. J Affect Disord 2023; 325:151-157. [PMID: 36627057 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.01.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive technique frequently used to measure the brain hemodynamic activity in applications to evaluate affective disorders and stress. Using two wavelengths of light, it is possible to monitor relative changes in the concentrations of oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin. Besides, the spatial asymmetry in the prefrontal cortex activity has been correlated with the brain response to stressful situations. METHODS We measured prefrontal cortex activity with a NIRS multi-distance device during a baseline period, under stressful conditions (e.g., social stress), and after a recovery phase. We calculated a laterality index for the contaminated brain signal and for the brain signal where we removed the influence of extracerebral hemodynamic activity by using a short channel. RESULTS There was a significant right lateralization during stress when using the contaminated signals, consistent with previous investigations, but this significant difference disappeared using the corrected signals. Indeed, exploration of the susceptibility to contamination of the different channels showed non-homogeneous spatial patterns, which would hint at detection of stress from extracerebral activity from the forehead. LIMITATIONS There was no recovery phase between the social and the arithmetic stressor, a cumulative effect was not considered. CONCLUSIONS Extracerebral hemodynamic activity provided insights into the pertinence of short channel corrections in fNIRS studies dealing with emotions. It is important to consider this issue in clinical applications including modern monitoring systems based on fNIRS technique to assess emotional states in affective disorders.
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Marcu GM, Szekely-Copîndean RD, Radu AM, Bucuță MD, Fleacă RS, Tănăsescu C, Roman MD, Boicean A, Băcilă CI. Resting-state frontal, frontlateral, and parietal alpha asymmetry:A pilot study examining relations with depressive disorder type and severity. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1087081. [PMID: 37008856 PMCID: PMC10062203 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1087081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/09/2023] Open
Abstract
IntroductionThe search for biomarkers has been central to efforts of improving clinical diagnosis and prognosis in psychopathology in the last decades. The main approach has been to validate biomarkers that could accurately discriminate between clinical diagnoses of very prevalent forms of psychopathology. One of the most popular electrophysiological markers proposed for discrimination in depressive disorders is the electroencephalography (EEG)-derived frontal alpha asymmetry. However, the validity, reliability and predictive value of this biomarker have been questioned in recent years, mainly due to conceptual and methodological heterogeneity.MethodsIn the current non-experimental, correlational study we investigated relationship of resting-state EEG alpha asymmetry from multiple sites (frontal, frontolateral, and parietal) with different forms of depressive disorders (varying in type or severity), in a clinical sample.ResultsResults showed that alpha asymmetry in the parietal (P3-P4) was significantly higher than in the frontal (F3-F4) and frontolateral sites (F7-F8). However, we did not find significant relations between alpha asymmetry indices and our depressive disorder measures, except for a moderate positive association between frontolateral alpha asymmetry (eyes-closed only) and depressive disorder severity (determined through clinical structured interview). We also found no significant differences in alpha asymmetry between participants, depending on their depression type.DiscussionBased on results, we propose the parietal and frontolateral asymmetry indices to form hypotheses that should not be abandoned in the depression markers research, but worth for further experimental research. Methodological and clinical implications of the current findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela M. Marcu
- Department of Psychology, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
- Faculty of Medicine, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, Romania
- Scientific Collective for Research in Neuroscience, Clinical Psychiatric Hospital “Dr. Gh. Preda”, Sibiu, Romania
| | - Raluca D. Szekely-Copîndean
- Scientific Collective for Research in Neuroscience, Clinical Psychiatric Hospital “Dr. Gh. Preda”, Sibiu, Romania
- Department of Social and Human Research, Romanian Academy, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
| | - Ana-Maria Radu
- Department of Psychology, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
- Scientific Collective for Research in Neuroscience, Clinical Psychiatric Hospital “Dr. Gh. Preda”, Sibiu, Romania
- *Correspondence: Ana-Maria Radu,
| | - Mihaela D. Bucuță
- Department of Psychology, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
- Center for Psychological Research, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
| | - Radu S. Fleacă
- Faculty of Medicine, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
| | - Ciprian Tănăsescu
- Faculty of Medicine, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
| | - Mihai D. Roman
- Faculty of Medicine, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
| | - Adrian Boicean
- Faculty of Medicine, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
| | - Ciprian I. Băcilă
- Scientific Collective for Research in Neuroscience, Clinical Psychiatric Hospital “Dr. Gh. Preda”, Sibiu, Romania
- Faculty of Medicine, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Sibiu, Romania
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15
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Deng X, Zhang S, Chen X, Coplan RJ, Xiao B, Ding X. Links between social avoidance and frontal alpha asymmetry during processing emotional facial stimuli: An exploratory study. Biol Psychol 2023; 178:108516. [PMID: 36792050 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108516] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/13/2022] [Revised: 02/10/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2023] [Indexed: 02/16/2023]
Abstract
Individuals who are socially avoidant actively remove themselves from opportunities for social interaction and have a strong desire for solitude. Although social avoidance is associated with a host of adjustment difficulties, its neural substrates remain under-explored. To address this gap, we conducted an exploratory study to compare electroencephalography (EEG) frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) scores during processing emotional facial stimuli in socially avoidant and non-withdrawn comparison individuals. From an original sample of N = 384 undergraduate students, 25 avoidant and 27 comparison individuals were identified. For this subset of participants, EEG modulations and self-reported experience ratings during a picture processing task were assessed. Among the results, the socially avoidant group's ratings of positive stimuli were significantly lower than the non-withdrawn comparison group. The socially avoidant group also had significantly lower FAA scores in response to positive stimuli than the comparison group. Further, asymmetry scores of the comparison group in the positive conditions were higher than in the negative and neutral conditions. However, there were no significant differences between these three conditions in the socially avoidant group. Our results suggest that socially avoidant individuals may eschew interpersonal relationships because of a relatively greater right hemisphere cortical activity, which may contribute to a withdrawal motivation when confronted with negative emotional stimuli in social contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinmei Deng
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China; The Shenzhen Humanities & Social Sciences Key Research Bases of the Center for Mental Health, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Simin Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Xiaomin Chen
- School of Psychology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Robert J Coplan
- Department of Psychology, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Bowen Xiao
- Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Xuechen Ding
- Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China; The Research Base of Online Education for Shanghai Middle and Primary Schools, Shanghai, China.
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16
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Berretz G, Dutschke C, Leonard E, Packheiser J. Ewww-Investigating the neural basis of disgust in response to naturalistic and pictorial nauseating stimuli. Front Psychiatry 2023; 13:1054224. [PMID: 36756635 PMCID: PMC9899807 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.1054224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Emotion induction in psychological and neuroscientific research has been mostly done by presenting participants with picture or film material. However, it is debatable whether this passive approach to emotion induction results in an affective state comparable to real-life emotions, and if the neural correlates of emotion processing are ecologically valid. To investigate the appropriateness of pictures for the induction of emotions, we presented 56 participants in a within-subjects design with naturalistic disgusting and neutral stimuli as well as with pictures of said stimulus material while recording continuous EEG data. We calculated asymmetry indices (AIs) for alpha power as an index of emotion processing and emotion regulation at the F3/4, F5/6, F7/8, and O1/2 electrode pairs. Participants reported higher disgust ratings for disgusting naturalistic compared to disgusting pictorial stimuli. Investigating changes in the EEG signal in participants with a pronounced disgust response (n = 38), we found smaller AIs for naturalistic stimuli compared to pictures. Moreover, in this disgusted sub-sample, there were smaller AIs in response to naturalistic disgusting stimuli compared to pictorial disgusting and neutral stimuli at the O1/2 electrode pair indicating stronger activation of the right relative to the left hemisphere by naturalistic stimuli. As the right hemisphere has been shown to display dominance in processing negative and withdrawal-associated emotions, this might indicate that naturalistic stimuli are more appropriate for the induction of emotions than picture stimuli. To improve the validity of results from emotion induction, future research should incorporate stimulus material that is as naturalistic as possible.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gesa Berretz
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Canan Dutschke
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Elodie Leonard
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Julian Packheiser
- Social Brain Lab, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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17
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Monni A, Collison KL, Hill KE, Oumeziane BA, Foti D. The novel frontal alpha asymmetry factor and its association with depression, anxiety, and personality traits. Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e14109. [PMID: 35616309 PMCID: PMC9532346 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2020] [Revised: 01/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) is widely examined in EEG research, yet a procedural consensus on its assessment is lacking. In this study, we tested a latent factorial approach to measure FAA. We assessed resting-state FAA at broad, low, and high alpha bands (8-13; 8-10.5; and 11-13 Hz) using mastoids as reference electrodes and Current Source Density (CSD) transformation (N = 139 non-clinical participants). From mastoid-referenced data, we extracted a frontal alpha asymmetry factor (FAAf) and a parietal factor (PAAf) subjecting all asymmetry indices to a varimax-rotated, principal component analysis. We explored split-half reliability and discriminant validity of the mastoid factors and the mastoid and CSD raw asymmetry indices (F3/4, F7/8, P3/4, and P7/8). Both factor and raw scores reached an excellent split-half reliability (>.99), but only the FAAf reached the maximum discriminant validity from parietal scores. Next, we explored the correlations of latent factor and raw FAA scores with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and personality traits to determine which associations were driven by FAA after variance from parietal activity was removed. After correcting for false discovery rate, only FAAf at the low alpha band was negatively associated with depression symptoms (a latent CES-D factor) and significantly diverged from PAAf's association with depression symptoms. With respect to personality traits, only CSD-transformed F7/8 was positively correlated with Conscientiousness and significantly diverged from the correlations between Conscientiousness and P3/4 and P7/8. Overall, the latent factor approach shows promise for isolating functionally distinct resting-state EEG signatures, although further research is needed to examine construct validity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Monni
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome ‘La Sapienza’, Rome, Italy
- Department of Education, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | | | - Kaylin E. Hill
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Belel Ait Oumeziane
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
| | - Dan Foti
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, United States
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18
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Silva-Passadouro B, Delgado-Sanchez A, Henshaw J, Lopez-Diaz K, Trujillo-Barreto NJ, Jones AKP, Sivan M. Frontal alpha asymmetry: A potential biomarker of approach-withdrawal motivation towards pain. FRONTIERS IN PAIN RESEARCH 2022; 3:962722. [PMID: 36238351 PMCID: PMC9552005 DOI: 10.3389/fpain.2022.962722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Pain-related catastrophising is a maladaptive coping strategy known to have a strong influence on clinical pain outcomes and treatment efficacy. Notwithstanding, little is known about its neurophysiological correlates. There is evidence to suggest catastrophising is associated with resting-state EEG frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) patterns reflective of greater relative right frontal activity, which is known to be linked to withdrawal motivation and avoidance of aversive stimuli. The present study aims to investigate whether such a relationship occurs in the situational context of experimental pain. A placebo intervention was also included to evaluate effects of a potential pain-relieving intervention on FAA. 35 participants, including both chronic pain patients and healthy subjects, completed the Pain Catastrophising Scale (PCS) questionnaire followed by EEG recordings during cold pressor test (CPT)-induced tonic pain with or without prior application of placebo cream. There was a negative correlation between FAA and PCS-subscale helplessness scores, but not rumination or magnification, during the pre-placebo CPT condition. Moreover, FAA scores were shown to increase significantly in response to pain, indicative of greater relative left frontal activity that relates to approach-oriented behaviours. Placebo treatment elicited a decrease in FAA in low helplessness scorers, but no significant effects in individuals scoring above the mean on PCS-helplessness. These findings suggest that, during painful events, FAA may reflect the motivational drive to obtain reward of pain relief, which may be diminished in individuals who are prone to feel helpless about their pain. This study provides valuable insights into biomarkers of pain-related catastrophising and prospects of identifying promising targets of brain-based therapies for chronic pain management.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bárbara Silva-Passadouro
- Academic Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Leeds Institute of Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
| | - Ariane Delgado-Sanchez
- Academic Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - James Henshaw
- Academic Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Karen Lopez-Diaz
- Academic Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Nelson J. Trujillo-Barreto
- Academic Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Anthony K. P. Jones
- Academic Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Manoj Sivan
- Academic Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Division of Neuroscience and Experimental Psychology, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
- Leeds Institute of Rheumatology and Musculoskeletal Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds, United Kingdom
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19
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Zhang D, Allen JJB. A comparison of nomothetic and individualized alpha frequency approaches to measuring frontal EEG alpha asymmetry. Psychophysiology 2022; 60:e14149. [PMID: 35843910 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/08/2021] [Revised: 05/27/2022] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) is considered to be a reliable marker of affective processing and psychopathology. Traditionally, the magnitude of alpha is calculated by taking the average over a nomothetic fixed frequency window (e.g., 8 to 13 Hz). Alternatively, methods have been proposed to extract individualized alpha frequency (IAF) peaks and windows in hopes of improving the reliability and validity of signal detection. However, no study has compared the nomothetic to IAF approaches to examine the reliability and validity of resting FAA in a large well-characterized data set. In this study, we assessed the psychometric performance of the standard fixed window approach, a PZ-alpha based IAF approach and a global-alpha based IAF windows detection approach on a previously collected EEG data set (8 recordings per subject collected on four occasions across two weeks). Our results revealed that resting FAA calculated with these three different methods are highly correlated at all frontal regions (mean r = .98). The stability across the 8 recordings over the two weeks also showed no substantial difference between approaches as indicated by intraclass correlations. Moreover, internal-consistency reliability, validity with respect to measures of emotion and emotion-related psychopathology and state-trait Structure equation model (SEM) fitting were evaluated and yielded no significant differences across methods. Our results supported the overall reliability and validity of two different IAF approaches to assessing resting FAA but fail to find any incremental advantage over nomothetic approaches to defining alpha bands. Guidelines for methods selection for future research are provided.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diheng Zhang
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
| | - John J B Allen
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA
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20
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Mulligan DJ, Palopoli AC, van den Heuvel MI, Thomason ME, Trentacosta CJ. Frontal Alpha Asymmetry in Response to Stressor Moderates the Relation Between Parenting Hassles and Child Externalizing Problems. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:917300. [PMID: 35864992 PMCID: PMC9294442 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.917300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Accepted: 06/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Inequitable urban environments are associated with toxic stress and altered neural social stress processing that threatens the development of self-regulation. Some children in these environments struggle with early onset externalizing problems that are associated with a variety of negative long-term outcomes. While previous research has linked parenting daily hassles to child externalizing problems, the role of frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) as a potential modifier of this relationship has scarcely been explored. The present study examined mother-child dyads, most of whom were living in low socioeconomic status households in an urban environment and self-identified as members of racial minority groups. Analyses focused on frustration task electroencephalography (EEG) data from 67 children (mean age = 59.0 months, SD = 2.6). Mothers reported the frequency of their daily parenting hassles and their child's externalizing problems. Frustration task FAA moderated the relationship between parenting daily hassles and child externalizing problems, but resting FAA did not. More specifically, children with left frontal asymmetry had more externalizing problems as their mothers perceived more hassles in their parenting role, but parenting hassles and externalizing problems were not associated among children with right frontal asymmetry. These findings lend support to the motivational direction hypothesis and capability model of FAA. More generally, this study reveals how individual differences in lateralization of cortical activity in response to a stressor may confer differential susceptibility to child behavioral problems with approach motivation (i.e., left frontal asymmetry) predicting externalizing problems under conditions of parental stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J. Mulligan
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | - Ava C. Palopoli
- Department of Psychology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, United States
| | | | - Moriah E. Thomason
- Department of Population Health, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, United States
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, New York University Medical Center, New York, NY, United States
- Neuroscience Institute, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY, United States
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21
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Shadli SM, Delany RG, Glue P, McNaughton N. Right Frontal Theta: Is It a Response Biomarker for Ketamine’s Therapeutic Action in Anxiety Disorders? Front Neurosci 2022; 16:900105. [PMID: 35860301 PMCID: PMC9289609 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.900105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental disorders in the world, creating huge economic burdens on health systems and impairing the quality of life for those affected. Recently, ketamine has emerged as an effective anxiolytic even in cases resistant to conventional treatments (TR); but its therapeutic mechanism is unknown. Previous data suggest that ketamine anxiety therapy is mediated by reduced right frontal electroencephalogram (EEG) theta power measured during relaxation. Here we test for a similar theta reduction between population-sample, presumed treatment-sensitive, (TS) anxiety patients and healthy controls. Patients with TS DSM-5 anxiety disorder and healthy controls provided EEG during 10 min of relaxation and completed anxiety-related questionnaires. Frontal delta, theta, alpha1, alpha2, beta, and gamma power, Higuchi’s fractal dimension (HFD) and frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) values were extracted to match ketamine testing; and we predicted that the controls would have less theta power at F4, relative to the TS anxious patients, and no differences in HFD or FAA. We provide graphical comparisons of our frontal band power patient-control differences with previously published post-pre ketamine TR differences. As predicted, theta power at F4 was significantly lower in controls than patients and FAA was not significantly different. However, HFD was unexpectedly reduced at lateral sites. Gamma power did not increase between controls and patients suggesting that the increased gamma produced by ketamine relates to dissociation rather than therapy. Although preliminary, and indirect, our results suggest that the anxiolytic action of ketamine is mediated through reduced right frontal theta power.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shabah M. Shadli
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
- *Correspondence: Shabah M. Shadli,
| | - Robert G. Delany
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Paul Glue
- Department of Psychological Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Neil McNaughton
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
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22
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Sabu P, Stuldreher IV, Kaneko D, Brouwer AM. A Review on the Role of Affective Stimuli in Event-Related Frontal Alpha Asymmetry. FRONTIERS IN COMPUTER SCIENCE 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fcomp.2022.869123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Frontal alpha asymmetry refers to the difference between the right and left alpha activity over the frontal brain region. Increased activity in the left hemisphere has been linked to approach motivation and increased activity in the right hemisphere has been linked to avoidance or withdrawal. However, research on alpha asymmetry is diverse and has shown mixed results, which may partly be explained by the potency of the used stimuli to emotionally and motivationally engage participants. This review gives an overview of the types of affective stimuli utilized with the aim to identify which stimuli elicit a strong approach-avoidance effect in an affective context. We hope this contributes to better understanding of what is reflected by alpha asymmetry, and in what circumstances it may be an informative marker of emotional state. We systematically searched the literature for studies exploring event-related frontal alpha asymmetry in affective contexts. The search resulted in 61 papers, which were categorized in five stimulus categories that were expected to differ in their potency to engage participants: images & sounds, videos, real cues, games and other tasks. Studies were viewed with respect to the potency of the stimuli to evoke significant approach-avoidance effects on their own and in interaction with participant characteristics or condition. As expected, passively perceived stimuli that are multimodal or realistic, seem more potent to elicit alpha asymmetry than unimodal stimuli. Games, and other stimuli with a strong task-based component were expected to be relatively engaging but approach-avoidance effects did not seem to be much clearer than the studies using perception of videos and real cues. While multiple factors besides stimulus characteristics determine alpha asymmetry, and we did not identify a type of affective stimulus that induces alpha asymmetry highly consistently, our results indicate that strongly engaging, salient and/or personally relevant stimuli are important to induce an approach-avoidance effect.
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23
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Glier S, Campbell A, Corr R, Pelletier-Baldelli A, Belger A. Individual differences in frontal alpha asymmetry moderate the relationship between acute stress responsivity and state and trait anxiety in adolescents. Biol Psychol 2022; 172:108357. [PMID: 35662579 PMCID: PMC10091222 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2022.108357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2021] [Revised: 05/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Stress is a risk factor in the development and maintenance of psychopathology, particularly anxiety. Despite theory suggesting differences in stress responsivity may explain heterogeneity in anxiety, findings remain contradictory. This may be due to failure to account for individuals' neurobiological states and outdated methodologic analyses which confound conceptually and biologically distinct stress response pathways. In 145 adolescents, this study examined whether individual differences in neural activation underlying motivational states, indexed by resting frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) before and after the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), moderate the relationship between stress responsivity (measured by cortisol) and anxiety. Adolescents with rightward FAA activation (indexed by changes in resting FAA pre-to-post TSST) and high trait anxiety showed blunted cortisol reactivities while those with leftward FAA activation and high state anxiety showed prolonged cortisol recoveries. Our work reveals individual differences in vulnerability to psychosocial stressors and is the first study to show that FAA activation moderates the relationships between anxiety and distinct phases of the stress response in adolescents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Glier
- School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Psychiatry Department at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
| | - Alana Campbell
- Psychiatry Department at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | - Rachel Corr
- Psychiatry Department at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
| | | | - Aysenil Belger
- Psychiatry Department at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA; Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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24
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Dell'Acqua C, Dal Bò E, Moretta T, Palomba D, Messerotti Benvenuti S. EEG time-frequency analysis reveals blunted tendency to approach and increased processing of unpleasant stimuli in dysphoria. Sci Rep 2022; 12:8161. [PMID: 35581359 PMCID: PMC9113991 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-12263-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
To date, affective and cognitive processing of emotional information in individuals with depressive symptoms have been examined through peripheral psychophysiological measures, event-related potentials, and time–frequency analysis of oscillatory activity. However, electrocortical correlates of emotional and cognitive processing of affective content in depression have not been fully understood. Time–frequency analysis of electroencephalographic activity allows disentangling the brain's parallel processing of information. The present study employed a time–frequency approach to simultaneously examine affective disposition and cognitive processing during the viewing of emotional stimuli in dysphoria. Time–frequency event-related changes were examined during the viewing of pleasant, neutral and unpleasant pictures in 24 individuals with dysphoria and 24 controls. Affective disposition was indexed by delta and alpha power, while theta power was employed as a correlate of cognitive elaboration of the stimuli. Cluster-based statistics revealed a centro-parietal reduction in delta power for pleasant stimuli in individuals with dysphoria relative to controls. Also, dysphoria was characterized by an early fronto-central increase in theta power for unpleasant stimuli relative to neutral and pleasant ones. Comparatively, controls were characterized by a late fronto-central and occipital reduction in theta power for unpleasant stimuli relative to neutral and pleasant. The present study granted novel insights on the interrelated facets of affective elaboration in dysphoria, mainly characterized by a hypoactivation of the approach-related motivational system and a sustained facilitated cognitive processing of unpleasant stimuli.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carola Dell'Acqua
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy. .,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B, 35131, Padua, Italy.
| | - Elisa Dal Bò
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy.,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B, 35131, Padua, Italy
| | - Tania Moretta
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy
| | - Daniela Palomba
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy.,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B, 35131, Padua, Italy
| | - Simone Messerotti Benvenuti
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8, 35131, Padua, Italy.,Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B, 35131, Padua, Italy
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25
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Giannopoulos AE, Zioga I, Papageorgiou P, Pervanidou P, Makris G, Chrousos GP, Stachtea X, Capsalis C, Papageorgiou C. Evaluating the Modulation of the Acoustic Startle Reflex in Children and Adolescents via Vertical EOG and EEG: Sex, Age, and Behavioral Effects. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:798667. [PMID: 35464323 PMCID: PMC9019526 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.798667] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 02/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Acoustic startle reflex (ASR) constitutes a reliable, cross-species indicator of sensorimotor and inhibitory mechanisms, showing distinct signature in cognitive aging, sex, and psychopathological characterization. ASR can be modulated by the prepulse inhibition (PPI) paradigm, which comprises the suppression of reactivity to a startling stimulus (pulse) following a weak prepulse (30- to 500-ms time difference), being widely linked to inhibitory capabilities of the sensorimotor system. If the prepulse–pulse tones are more clearly separated (500–2,000 ms), ASR amplitude is enhanced, termed as prepulse facilitation (PPF), reflecting sustained or selective attention. Our study aimed to investigate early-life sensorimotor sex/age differences using Electroencephalographic recordings to measure muscular and neural ASR in a healthy young population. Sixty-three children and adolescents aged 6.2–16.7 years (31 females) took part in the experiment. Neural ASR was assessed by two different analyses, namely, event-related potentials (ERPs) and first-derivative potentials (FDPs). As expected, PPF showed enhanced responses compared with PPI, as indicated by eyeblink, ERP and FDP measures, confirming the gating effect hypothesis. Sex-related differences were reflected in FDPs, with females showing higher ASR than males, suggesting increased levels of poststartle excitability. Intragroup age effects were evaluated via multipredictor regression models, noticing positive correlation between age versus eyeblink and ERP responses. Attention-related ERPs (N100 and P200) showed distinct patterns in PPI versus PPF, potentially indicative for alternative attentional allocation and block-out of sensory overload. Screening measures of participants’ neurodevelopmental (assessed by Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children) and behavioral (assessed by Child Behavior Checklist) markers were also associated with increased N100/P200 responses, presumably indexing synergy between perceptual consistency, personality profiling, and inhibitory performance. Conclusively, modulation of ASR by PPI and PPF is associated with biological sex and internal/external personality traits in childhood and adolescence, potentially useful to guide symptomatology and prevention of psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anastasios E. Giannopoulos
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece
- *Correspondence: Anastasios E. Giannopoulos,
| | - Ioanna Zioga
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, Netherlands
- First Department of Psychiatry, Eginition Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Athens, Greece
| | - Panos Papageorgiou
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
| | - Panagiota Pervanidou
- Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Gerasimos Makris
- Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - George P. Chrousos
- Unit of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, First Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, “Aghia Sophia” Children’s Hospital, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Xanthi Stachtea
- Neurosciences and Precision Medicine Research Institute “COSTAS STEFANIS” (UMHRI), University Mental Health, Athens, Greece
| | - Christos Capsalis
- School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, Athens, Greece
| | - Charalabos Papageorgiou
- Neurosciences and Precision Medicine Research Institute “COSTAS STEFANIS” (UMHRI), University Mental Health, Athens, Greece
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26
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Graphical representation learning-based approach for automatic classification of electroencephalogram signals in depression. Comput Biol Med 2022; 145:105420. [PMID: 35390744 DOI: 10.1016/j.compbiomed.2022.105420] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2021] [Revised: 02/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Depression is a major depressive disorder characterized by persistent sadness and a sense of worthlessness, as well as a loss of interest in pleasurable activities, which leads to a variety of physical and emotional problems. It is a worldwide illness that affects millions of people and should be detected at an early stage to prevent negative effects on an individual's life. Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a non-invasive technique for detecting depression that analyses brain signals to determine the current mental state of depressed subjects. In this study, we propose a method for automatic feature extraction to detect depression by first constructing a graph from the dataset where the nodes represent the subjects in the dataset and where the edge weights obtained using the Euclidean distance reflect the relationship between them. The Node2vec algorithmic framework is then used to compute feature representations for nodes in a graph in the form of node embeddings ensuring that similar nodes in the graph remain near in the embedding. These node embeddings act as useful features which can be directly used by classification algorithms to determine whether a subject is depressed thus reducing the effort required for manual handcrafted feature extraction. To combine the features collected from the multiple channels of the EEG data, the method proposes three types of fusion methods: graph-level fusion, feature-level fusion, and decision-level fusion. The proposed method is tested on three publicly available datasets with 3, 20, and 128 channels, respectively, and compared to five state-of-the-art methods. The results show that the proposed method detects depression effectively with a peak accuracy of 0.933 in decision-level fusion, which is the highest among the state-of-the-art methods.
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27
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Brown KW, Berry D, Eichel K, Beloborodova P, Rahrig H, Britton WB. Comparing impacts of meditation training in focused attention, open monitoring, and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on emotion reactivity and regulation: Neural and subjective evidence from a dismantling study. Psychophysiology 2022; 59:e14024. [PMID: 35182393 PMCID: PMC9286350 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2020] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Commonly conducted mindfulness‐based trainings such as Mindfulness‐based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness‐based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) highlight training in two key forms of meditation: focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM). Largely unknown is what each of these mindfulness practices contributes to emotional and other important training outcomes. This dismantling trial compared the effects of structurally equivalent trainings in MBCT, FA, and OM on neural and subjective markers of emotional reactivity and regulation among community adults, with the aim to better understand which forms of training represent active ingredients in mindfulness trainings. Participants with varying levels of depressive symptoms were randomized to one of the three trainings. Before and after each 8‐week training, N = 89 participants completed a modified version of the Emotional Reactivity and Regulation Task while electroencephalographic (EEG) and self‐reported emotional responses to negative, positive, and neutral photographic images were collected. Examination of EEG‐based frontal alpha band asymmetry during passive viewing (reactivity) and active regulation phases of the task showed that FA and MBCT trainings produced significant leftward hemispheric shifts in frontal alpha asymmetry, commonly associated with a shift toward approach‐based positive affect. Self‐reported emotional responses to negative images corroborated these results, suggesting salutary changes in both emotional reactivity and regulation. OM training had limited beneficial effects, restricted to the subjective outcomes. The findings suggest that MBCT may derive its greatest benefit from training in FA rather than OM. Discussion highlights the potential value of FA training for emotional health. In the first report comparing emotion‐relevant impacts of focused attention meditation (FA), open awareness meditation (OM), and Mindfulness‐based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) among those with depressive symptoms, we show that FA and MBCT produced leftward hemispheric shifts in frontal alpha asymmetry, consistent with approach‐based positive affect, during an emotion reactivity and regulation task. Self‐reported emotional responses to negative images corroborated these results. The findings highlight the potential value of FA and MBCT training for emotional health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirk Warren Brown
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Daniel Berry
- Department of Psychology, California State University, San Marcos, San Marcos, California, USA
| | - Kristina Eichel
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
| | - Polina Beloborodova
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Hadley Rahrig
- Department of Psychology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia, USA
| | - Willoughby B Britton
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School at Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
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28
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Koller-Schlaud K, Ströhle A, Behr J, Bärwolf Dreysse E, Rentzsch J. Changes in Electric Brain Response to Affective Stimuli in the First Week of Antidepressant Treatment: An Exploratory Study. Neuropsychobiology 2022; 81:69-79. [PMID: 34515179 DOI: 10.1159/000517860] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Asymmetrical alpha and frontal theta activity have been discussed as neurobiological markers for antidepressant treatment response. While most studies focus on resting-state EEG, there is evidence that task-related activity assessed at multiple time points might be superior in detecting subtle early differences. METHODS This was a naturalistic study design assessing participants in a psychiatric in- and outpatient hospital setting. We investigated stimulus-related EEG asymmetry (frontal and occipital alpha-1 and alpha-2) and power (frontal midline theta) assessed at baseline and 1 week after initiation of pharmacological depression treatment while presenting affective stimuli. We then compared week 4 responders and nonresponders to antidepressant treatment. RESULTS Follow-up analyses of a significant group × emotion × time interaction (p < 0.04) for alpha-1 asymmetry showed that responders differed significantly at baseline in their asymmetry scores in response to sad compared to happy faces with a change in this pattern 1 week later. Nonresponders did not show this pattern. No significant results were found for alpha-2, occipital alpha-1, and occipital alpha-2 asymmetry or frontal midline theta power. DISCUSSION Our study addresses the gap in comparisons of task-related EEG activity changes measured at two time points and supports the potential value of this approach in detecting early differences in responders versus nonresponders to pharmacological treatment. Important limitations include the small sample size and the noncontrolled study design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Koller-Schlaud
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Neuruppin, Germany
| | - Andreas Ströhle
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Joachim Behr
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Neuruppin, Germany.,Faculty of Health Science Brandenburg, Joint Faculty of the University of Potsdam, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg and Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Elisabeth Bärwolf Dreysse
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Johannes Rentzsch
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences
- CCM, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Neuruppin, Germany
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29
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Watson D, Levin-Aspenson HF, Waszczuk MA, Conway CC, Dalgleish T, Dretsch MN, Eaton NR, Forbes MK, Forbush KT, Hobbs KA, Michelini G, Nelson BD, Sellbom M, Slade T, South SC, Sunderland M, Waldman I, Witthöft M, Wright AGC, Kotov R, Krueger RF. Validity and utility of Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP): III. Emotional dysfunction superspectrum. World Psychiatry 2022; 21:26-54. [PMID: 35015357 PMCID: PMC8751579 DOI: 10.1002/wps.20943] [Citation(s) in RCA: 100] [Impact Index Per Article: 50.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology (HiTOP) is a quantitative nosological system that addresses shortcomings of traditional mental disorder diagnoses, including arbitrary boundaries between psychopathology and normality, frequent disorder co-occurrence, substantial heterogeneity within disorders, and diagnostic unreliability over time and across clinicians. This paper reviews evidence on the validity and utility of the internalizing and somatoform spectra of HiTOP, which together provide support for an emotional dysfunction superspectrum. These spectra are composed of homogeneous symptom and maladaptive trait dimensions currently subsumed within multiple diagnostic classes, including depressive, anxiety, trauma-related, eating, bipolar, and somatic symptom disorders, as well as sexual dysfunction and aspects of personality disorders. Dimensions falling within the emotional dysfunction superspectrum are broadly linked to individual differences in negative affect/neuroticism. Extensive evidence establishes that dimensions falling within the superspectrum share genetic diatheses, environmental risk factors, cognitive and affective difficulties, neural substrates and biomarkers, childhood temperamental antecedents, and treatment response. The structure of these validators mirrors the quantitative structure of the superspectrum, with some correlates more specific to internalizing or somatoform conditions, and others common to both, thereby underlining the hierarchical structure of the domain. Compared to traditional diagnoses, the internalizing and somatoform spectra demonstrated substantially improved utility: greater reliability, larger explanatory and predictive power, and greater clinical applicability. Validated measures are currently available to implement the HiTOP system in practice, which can make diagnostic classification more useful, both in research and in the clinic.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Watson
- Department of Psychology, University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN, USA
| | | | - Monika A Waszczuk
- Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | | | - Tim Dalgleish
- Medical Research Council, Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge, UK
| | - Michael N Dretsch
- US Army Medical Research Directorate - West, Walter Reed Army Institute of Research, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, WA, USA
| | - Nicholas R Eaton
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Miriam K Forbes
- Centre for Emotional Health, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Kelsie T Forbush
- Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA
| | - Kelsey A Hobbs
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Giorgia Michelini
- Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Brady D Nelson
- Department of Psychology, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Martin Sellbom
- Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Tim Slade
- Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Susan C South
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA
| | - Matthew Sunderland
- Matilda Centre for Research in Mental Health and Substance Use, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Irwin Waldman
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Michael Witthöft
- Department for Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Aidan G C Wright
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Roman Kotov
- Department of Psychiatry, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | - Robert F Krueger
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
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30
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Berretz G, Packheiser J, Wolf OT, Ocklenburg S. Acute stress increases left hemispheric activity measured via changes in frontal alpha asymmetries. iScience 2022; 25:103841. [PMID: 35198894 PMCID: PMC8850739 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.103841] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 01/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Frontal EEG alpha band asymmetries have been linked to affective processing in healthy individuals and affective disorders. As stress provides a strong source of negative affect, the present study investigated how acute stress affects frontal EEG alpha asymmetries. Continuous EEG data were acquired from 51 healthy adult participants during stress induction with the Trier Social Stress Test. EEG data were also collected during a non-stressful control condition. Furthermore, EEG resting state data were acquired after both conditions. Under stress, participants showed stronger left hemispheric activation over frontal electrodes as well as reduced left-hemispheric activation over occipital electrodes compared to the control condition. Our results are in line with predictions of the asymmetric inhibition model which postulates that the left prefrontal cortex inhibits negative distractors. Moreover, the results support the capability model of emotional regulation which states that frontal asymmetries during emotional challenge are more pronounced compared to asymmetries during rest. EEG recording during social stress induction Stronger left hemispheric frontal activation during emotional challenge No stress-related changes in resting state EEG after stress induction Support for asymmetric inhibition and the capability model of emotional regulation
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Affiliation(s)
- Gesa Berretz
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, Room: IB 6/109, 44780 Bochum, Germany
- Corresponding author
| | - Julian Packheiser
- Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Social Brain Lab, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Oliver T. Wolf
- Department of Cognitive Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Bochum, Germany
| | - Sebastian Ocklenburg
- Department of Biopsychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Psychology, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, Room: IB 6/109, 44780 Bochum, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
- Institute for Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, Medical School Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
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31
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Obst MA, Al-Zubaidi A, Heldmann M, Nolde JM, Blümel N, Kannenberg S, Münte TF. Five weeks of intermittent transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation shape neural networks: a machine learning approach. Brain Imaging Behav 2021; 16:1217-1233. [PMID: 34966977 PMCID: PMC9107416 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-021-00572-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2020] [Accepted: 09/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Invasive and transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation [(t)-VNS] have been used to treat epilepsy, depression and migraine and has also shown effects on metabolism and body weight. To what extent this treatment shapes neural networks and how such network changes might be related to treatment effects is currently unclear. Using a pre-post mixed study design, we applied either a tVNS or sham stimulation (5 h/week) in 34 overweight male participants in the context of a study designed to assess effects of tVNS on body weight and metabolic and cognitive parameters resting state (rs) fMRI was measured about 12 h after the last stimulation period. Support vector machine (SVM) classification was applied to fractional amplitude low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) on established rs-networks. All classification results were controlled for random effects and overfitting. Finally, we calculated multiple regressions between the classification results and reported food craving. We found a classification accuracy (CA) of 79 % in a subset of four brainstem regions suggesting that tVNS leads to lasting changes in brain networks. Five of eight salience network regions yielded 76,5 % CA. Our study shows tVNS’ post-stimulation effects on fALFF in the salience rs-network. More detailed investigations of this effect and their relationship with food intake seem reasonable for future studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martina A Obst
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Arkan Al-Zubaidi
- Applied Neurocognitive Psychology Lab, University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany
| | - Marcus Heldmann
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | | | - Nick Blümel
- Department of Internal Medicine 1, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Swantje Kannenberg
- Department of Internal Medicine 1, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Thomas F Münte
- Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany. .,Centre of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM), Universität of Lübeck, Building 66 Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562, Lübeck, Germany.
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32
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EEG Frontal Asymmetry in Dysthymia, Major Depressive Disorder and Euthymic Bipolar Disorder. Symmetry (Basel) 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/sym13122414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
In the last few decades, the incidence of mood disorders skyrocketed worldwide and has brought an increasing human and economic burden. Depending on the main symptoms and their evolution across time, they can be classified in several clinical subgroups. A few psychobiological indices have been extensively investigated as promising markers of mood disorders. Among these, frontal asymmetry measured at rest with quantitative EEG has represented the main available marker in recent years. Only a few studies so far attempted to distinguish the features and differences among diagnostic types of mood disorders by using this index. The present study measured frontal EEG asymmetry during a 5-min resting state in three samples of patients with bipolar disorder in a Euthymic phase (EBD, n = 17), major depressive disorder (MDD, n = 25) and persistent depressive disorder (PDD, n = 21), once termed dysthymia. We aimed to test the hypothesis that MDD and PDD lack the typical leftward asymmetry exhibited by normal as well as EBD patients, and that PDD shows greater clinical and neurophysiological impairments than MDD. Clinical scales revealed no symptoms in EBD, and significant larger anxiety and depression scores in PDD than in MDD patients. Relative beta (i.e., beta/alpha ratio) EEG asymmetry was measured from lateral frontal sites and results revealed the typical greater left than right frontal beta activity in EBD, as well as a lack of asymmetry in both MDD and PDD. The last two groups also had lower bilateral frontal beta activity in comparison with the EBD group. Results concerning group differences were interpreted by taking into account both the clinical and the neurophysiological domains.
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33
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Gupta A, Wolff A, Northoff DG. Extending the "resting state hypothesis of depression" - dynamics and topography of abnormal rest-task modulation. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2021; 317:111367. [PMID: 34555652 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2021.111367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by changes in both rest and task states as manifested in temporal dynamics (EEG) and spatial patterns (fMRI). Are rest and task changes related to each other? Extending the "Resting state hypothesis of depression" (RSHD) (Northoff et al., 2011), we, using multimodal imaging, take a tripartite approach: (i) we conduct a review of EEG studies in MDD combining both rest and task states; (ii) we present our own EEG data in MDD on brain dynamics, i.e., intrinsic neural timescales as measured by the autocorrelation window (ACW); and (iii) we review fMRI studies in MDD to probe whether different regions exhibit different rest-task modulation. Review of EEG data shows reduced rest-task change in MDD in different measures of temporal dynamics like peak frequency (and others). Notably, our own EEG data show decreased rest-task change as measured by ACW in frontal electrodes of MDD. The fMRI data reveal that different regions exhibit different rest-task relationships (normal rest-abnormal task, abnormal rest-normal task, abnormal rest-abnormal task) in MDD. Together, we demonstrate altered spatiotemporal dynamics of rest-task modulation in MDD; this further supports and extends the key role of the spontaneous activity in MDD as proposed by the RSHD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anvita Gupta
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics, University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Canada; Department of Psychology, Neuroscience and Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Annemarie Wolff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics, University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Dr Georg Northoff
- Mind, Brain Imaging and Neuroethics, University of Ottawa Institute of Mental Health Research, Ottawa, Canada; Mental Health Center, 7th hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, 7th hospital, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, China; Centre for Research Ethics & Bioethics, University of Uppsala, Uppsala, Sweden.
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Kirsten H, Seib-Pfeifer LE, Gibbons H. Effects of the calorie content of visual food stimuli and simulated situations on event-related frontal alpha asymmetry and event-related potentials in the context of food choices. Appetite 2021; 169:105805. [PMID: 34780810 DOI: 10.1016/j.appet.2021.105805] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 11/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Approach and avoidance tendencies play an important role in everyday food choices when choosing between high-caloric, rather unhealthy, and low-caloric, rather healthy options. On a neuronal level, approach and avoidance motivation have been associated with asymmetrical activity of the frontal cortex, often quantified by alpha power averaged over several seconds of resting electroencephalogram (EEG). Going beyond the analysis of resting EEG, the present study aimed to investigate asymmetrical frontal activity in direct response to food stimuli in an event-related design and in combination with event-related potentials (ERPs). Therefore, a sample of 56 young and healthy participants completed a food choice task. They were asked to choose from a selection of high-caloric and low-caloric foods which they would want to eat on a normal day (baseline), when being on a diet, and in a reward situation. On the behavioural level, there was a clear preference for low-caloric foods. Well in line with that, time-frequency analyses of alpha asymmetry revealed relatively stronger temporary (950-1175 ms) left-hemispheric frontal activity, that is, a stronger approach tendency, in response to low-caloric as compared to high-caloric foods. Furthermore, larger P300 for low-caloric foods indicated an increased task relevance of low-caloric foods in the baseline and the reward situation. In contrast, the late positive potential (LPP), an index of subjective value, was larger for high-as compared to low-caloric foods, reflecting the intrinsic rewarding properties of high-caloric foods. ERPs, but not frontal alpha asymmetry, were influenced by the situational context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Kirsten
- Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111, Bonn, Germany.
| | | | - Henning Gibbons
- Department of Psychology, University of Bonn, Kaiser-Karl-Ring 9, 53111, Bonn, Germany.
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35
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Chueh TY, Hsieh SS, Tsai YJ, Yu CL, Huang CJ, Hung TM. The relationship between internalizing problems and acute exercise duration in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: The role of frontal alpha asymmetry. RESEARCH IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES 2021; 118:104063. [PMID: 34507050 DOI: 10.1016/j.ridd.2021.104063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) has been associated with the regulation of certain types of internalizing psychopathologies, and is affected by acute aerobic exercise (AE). However, no previous studies have examined the association between FAA and internalizing problems or the effects of acute exercise on FAA in children with ADHD. AIMS This study had two objectives. First, it aimed to examine the relationship between FAA and internalizing behaviors in children with ADHD. Second, it sought to investigate the differential effects of acute AE (30 and 50 min) on FAA. METHOD Participants were assigned to one of the following three groups: 50 min of AE, 30 min of AE, and a control group. Resting electroencephalogram (EEG) data were recorded before and after their respective treatments. EEG data from 43 participants were analyzed to investigate the association between pre-test FAA and internalizing problems as assessed by Child Behavior Checklist scores. Additionally, EEG data from 46 participants were analyzed to examine the effects of acute AE on post-test FAA while controlling for pre-test FAA. RESULTS Pre-test FAA was found to be significantly negatively associated with internalizing problems, with both hemispheres contributing to this association. Regarding the effects of acute exercise, the 50-minute AE group had highest post-test FAA, reflected by the increased relative left-side frontal activity. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that FAA is a biological marker of internalizing symptoms in children with ADHD, and a 50-minute session of AE can effectively modulate FAA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ting-Yu Chueh
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Shu-Shih Hsieh
- Department of Psychology, Northeastern University, Boston, United States; Department of Psychology, Kingston University, Kingston upon Thames, United Kingdom
| | - Yu-Jung Tsai
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Lin Yu
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Ju Huang
- Graduate Institute of Sport Pedagogy, University of Taipei, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Tsung-Min Hung
- Department of Physical Education and Sport Sciences, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan; Institute for Research Excellence in Learning Science, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei, Taiwan
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36
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Metzen D, Genç E, Getzmann S, Larra MF, Wascher E, Ocklenburg S. Frontal and parietal EEG alpha asymmetry: a large-scale investigation of short-term reliability on distinct EEG systems. Brain Struct Funct 2021; 227:725-740. [PMID: 34676455 PMCID: PMC8843903 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-021-02399-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
EEG resting-state alpha asymmetry is one of the most widely investigated forms of functional hemispheric asymmetries in both basic and clinical neuroscience. However, studies yield inconsistent results. One crucial prerequisite to obtain reproducible results is the reliability of the index of interest. There is a body of research suggesting a moderate-to-good reliability of EEG resting-state alpha asymmetry, but unfortunately sample sizes in these studies are typically small. This study presents the first large-scale short-term reliability study of frontal and parietal EEG resting-state alpha asymmetry. We used the Dortmund Vital Study data set containing 370 participants. In each participant, EEG resting state was recorded eight times, twice with their eyes opened, twice with their eyes-closed, each on two different EEG systems. We found good reliability of EEG alpha power and alpha asymmetry on both systems for electrode pairs. We also found that alpha power asymmetry reliability is higher in the eyes-closed condition than in the eyes-open condition. The frontomedial electrode pair showed weaker reliability than the frontolateral and parietal electrode pairs. Interestingly, we found no population-level alpha asymmetry in frontal electrodes, one of the most investigated electrode sites in alpha asymmetry research. In conclusion, our results suggest that while EEG alpha asymmetry is an overall reliable measure, frontal alpha asymmetry should be assessed using multiple electrode pairs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorothea Metzen
- Department of Biopsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Ruhr University Bochum, Universitätsstraße 150, 44801, Bochum, Germany.
| | - Erhan Genç
- Department of Psychology and Neurosciences, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University of Dortmund (IfADo), 44139, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Stephan Getzmann
- Department of Ergonomics, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University of Dortmund (IfADo), 44139, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Mauro F Larra
- Department of Ergonomics, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University of Dortmund (IfADo), 44139, Dortmund, Germany
| | - Edmund Wascher
- Department of Ergonomics, Leibniz Research Centre for Working Environment and Human Factors, Technical University of Dortmund (IfADo), 44139, Dortmund, Germany
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37
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Koller-Schlaud K, Querbach J, Behr J, Ströhle A, Rentzsch J. Test-Retest Reliability of Frontal and Parietal Alpha Asymmetry during Presentation of Emotional Face Stimuli in Healthy Subjects. Neuropsychobiology 2021; 79:428-436. [PMID: 32182618 DOI: 10.1159/000505783] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2019] [Accepted: 01/05/2020] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Resting-state and event-related frontal alpha asymmetry have been suggested as potential neurobiological biomarkers for depression and other psychiatric conditions. To be used as such, sufficient test-retest reliability needs to be demonstrated. However, test-retest reliability is underinvestigated for event-related alpha asymmetry. The objective of this study was to examine both short-term within-session and long-term between-session reliability of stimulus-related medial and lateral frontal as well as parietal alpha EEG asymmetry in healthy subjects during a simple emotional face processing task. Twenty-three healthy adults participated in two sessions with a test-retest interval of about 1 week. Reliability was estimated with Pearson's correlation coefficient and paired t test. Results revealed moderate to high within-session reliability of stimulus-related alpha asymmetry for all electrode sites and both conditions. Alpha asymmetry mean values did not change significantly within sessions. Between-session reliability was fair for frontomedial and moderate for frontolateral stimulus-related asymmetry. Exploratory exclusion of subjects with unstable between-session self-rating scores of emotional state and empathy toward stimuli resulted in some higher reliability values. Our results indicate that stimulus-related alpha asymmetry may serve as a useful electrophysiological tool given its adequate within-session reliability. However, long-term stability of stimulus-related frontal alpha asymmetry over 1 week was comparatively low and varied depending on electrode position. Influencing state factors during EEG recording, such as current mood or stimulus engagement, should be considered in future study designs and analyses. Further, we recommend to analyze alpha asymmetry from both frontomedial and frontolateral sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristin Koller-Schlaud
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Neuruppin, Germany
| | - Julia Querbach
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Joachim Behr
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Neuruppin, Germany.,Faculty of Health Science Brandenburg, Joint Faculty of the University of Potsdam, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg and Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Andreas Ströhle
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany
| | - Johannes Rentzsch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Campus Mitte, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health, Berlin, Germany, .,Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Neuruppin, Germany,
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38
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Resting posterior alpha power and adolescent major depressive disorder. J Psychiatr Res 2021; 141:233-240. [PMID: 34256274 PMCID: PMC8364881 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2021.07.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/04/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
For several decades, resting electroencephalogram (EEG) alpha oscillations have been used to characterize neurophysiological alterations related to major depressive disorder. Prior research has generally focused on frontal alpha power and asymmetry despite resting alpha being maximal over posterior electrode sites. Research in depressed adults has shown evidence of hemispheric asymmetry for posterior alpha power, however, the resting posterior alpha-depression link among adolescents remains unclear. To clarify the role of posterior alpha among depressed adolescents, the current study acquired eyes-closed 128-channel resting EEG data from 13 to 18 year-old depressed (n = 31) and healthy (n = 35) female adolescents. Results indicated a significant group by hemisphere interaction, as depressed adolescents exhibited significantly larger posterior alpha (i.e., lower brain activity) over the right versus left hemisphere, whereas healthy adolescents showed no hemispheric differences. Relatively greater alpha over the right versus left hemisphere correlated with depression symptoms, anhedonia symptoms, rumination, and self-criticism. Further, depressed adolescents had reduced overall posterior alpha compared to healthy youth; though, no associations with symptoms and related traits emerged. Resting posterior alpha may be a promising neurophysiological index of adolescent depression, and more broadly, may relate to risk factors characterized by enhanced perseveration.
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Krol KM, Namaky N, Monakhov MV, Lai PS, Ebstein R, Grossmann T. Genetic variation in the oxytocin system and its link to social motivation in human infants. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2021; 131:105290. [PMID: 34091402 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105290] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Frontal brain asymmetry has been linked to motivational processes in infants and adults, with left lateralization reflecting motivation to approach and right lateralization reflecting motivation to withdraw. We examined the hypothesis that variability in infants' social motivation may be linked to genetic variation in the oxytocin system. Eleven-month-old infants' brain responses and looking preferences to smiling and frowning individuals were assessed in conjunction with a polymorphism in CD38 (rs3796863) linked to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and reduced oxytocin. Frontal brain asymmetry and looking preferences differed as a function of CD38 genotype. While non-risk A-allele carriers displayed left lateralization to smiling faces (approach) and a heightened looking preference for the individual who smiled, infants with the CC (ASD risk) genotype displayed withdrawal from smiling faces and a preference for the individual who frowned. Findings demonstrate that the oxytocin system is linked to brain and behavioral markers of social motivation in infancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathleen M Krol
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, 485 McCormick Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA; Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Germany.
| | - Nauder Namaky
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, 485 McCormick Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA
| | - Mikhail V Monakhov
- Department of Neuroscience, Baylor College of Medicine, USA; Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Poh San Lai
- Department of Pediatrics, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Richard Ebstein
- Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore; China Center for Behavior Economics and Finance, Southwestern University of Finance and Economics, China
| | - Tobias Grossmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, 485 McCormick Rd., Charlottesville, VA 22904, USA; Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Germany
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40
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Anaya B, Ostlund B, LoBue V, Buss K, Pérez-Edgar K. Psychometric properties of infant electroencephalography: Developmental stability, reliability, and construct validity of frontal alpha asymmetry and delta-beta coupling. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:e22178. [PMID: 34423429 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22178] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) provides developmental neuroscientists a noninvasive view into the neural underpinnings of cognition and emotion. Recently, the psychometric properties of two widely used neural measures in early childhood-frontal alpha asymmetry and delta-beta coupling-have come under scrutiny. Despite their growing use, additional work examining how the psychometric properties of these neural signatures may change across infancy is needed. The current study examined the developmental stability, split-half reliability, and construct validity of infant frontal alpha asymmetry and delta-beta coupling. Infants provided resting-state EEG data at 8, 12, and 18 months of age (N = 213). Frontal alpha asymmetry and delta-beta coupling showed significant developmental change from 8 to 18 months. Reliability for alpha asymmetry, and alpha, delta, and beta power, individually, was generally good. In contrast, the reliability of delta-beta coupling scores was poor. Associations between frontal alpha asymmetry and approach tendencies generally emerged, whereas stronger (over-coupled) delta-beta coupling scores were associated with profiles of dysregulation and low inhibition. However, the individual associations varied across time and specific measures of interest. We discuss these findings with a developmental lens, highlighting the importance of repeated measures to better understand links between neural signatures and typical and atypical development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Berenice Anaya
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Brendan Ostlund
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Vanessa LoBue
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey, USA
| | - Kristin Buss
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Koraly Pérez-Edgar
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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41
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Kuusinen V, Peräkylä J, Sun L, Ogawa KH, Hartikainen KM. Emotional Modulation of Frontal Alpha Asymmetry - a Novel Biomarker of Mild Traumatic Brain Injury. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:699947. [PMID: 34354578 PMCID: PMC8329358 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.699947] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective findings of brain injury or dysfunction are typically lacking in mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) despite prolonged post-concussion symptoms in some patients. Thus, there is a need for objective biomarkers of MTBI that reflect altered brain physiology underlying subjective symptoms. We have previously reported increased attention to threat-related stimuli in subjects with MTBI, suggesting a physiological vulnerability to depression. Vulnerability to depression has been linked with relatively greater activity of the right than left frontal cortex reflected in inverse pattern in frontal alpha with greater power on the left than right. We investigated whether patients with previous MTBI show this pattern of frontal activity reflected in more negative frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) scores. Furthermore, in search for potential biomarkers of MTBI, we created a novel index, emotional modulation of FAA (eFAA) and investigated whether it correlates with subjective symptoms. EEG was recorded while subjects with previous MTBI and controls performed a computer-based reaction time task integrating different cognitive executive functions and containing either threat-related or emotionally neutral visual stimuli. Post-concussion symptoms and depression were assessed using the Rivermead Post-Concussion Symptoms Questionnaire (RPQ) and Beck's depression inventory (BDI). Task-induced FAA was assessed and eFAA calculated by subtracting FAA in the context of neutral stimuli from FAA in the context of emotional stimuli. The MTBI group showed FAA scores reflecting relatively greater right-sided frontal activity compared to healthy controls. eFAA differentiated the symptomatic MTBI from non-symptomatic MTBI group and from healthy controls. eFAA also correlated with RPQ and BDI scores. In conclusion, FAA pattern previously linked with vulnerability to depression, was observed in patients with previous MTBI. Furthermore, eFAA has potential as a biomarker of altered affective brain functions in MTBI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Venla Kuusinen
- Behavioral Neurology Research Unit, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Jari Peräkylä
- Behavioral Neurology Research Unit, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Lihua Sun
- Behavioral Neurology Research Unit, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
- Turku PET Centre, University of Turku, Turku, Finland
| | - Keith H. Ogawa
- Department of Psychology, Saint Mary’s College of California, Moraga, CA, United States
| | - Kaisa M. Hartikainen
- Behavioral Neurology Research Unit, Tampere University Hospital, Tampere, Finland
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Technology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
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42
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Candia-Rivera D, Catrambone V, Valenza G. The role of electroencephalography electrical reference in the assessment of functional brain-heart interplay: From methodology to user guidelines. J Neurosci Methods 2021; 360:109269. [PMID: 34171310 DOI: 10.1016/j.jneumeth.2021.109269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Revised: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The choice of EEG reference has been widely studied. However, the choice of the most appropriate re-referencing for EEG data is still debated. Moreover, the role of EEG reference in the estimation of functional Brain-Heart Interplay (BHI), together with different multivariate modelling strategies, has not been investigated yet. METHODS This study identifies the best methodology combining a proper EEG electrical reference and signal processing methods for an effective functional BHI assessment. The effects of the EEG reference among common average, mastoids average, Laplacian reference, Cz reference, and the reference electrode standardization technique (REST) were explored throughout different BHI methods including synthetic data generation (SDG) model, heartbeat-evoked potentials, heartbeat-evoked oscillations, and maximal information coefficient. RESULTS The SDG model exhibited high robustness between EEG references, whereas the maximal information coefficient method exhibited a high sensitivity. The common average and REST references for EEG showed a good consistency in the between-method comparisons. Laplacian, and Cz references significantly bias a BHI measurement. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS The use of EEG reference based on a common average outperforms on the use of other references for consistency in estimating directed functional BHI. We do not recommend the use of EEG references based on analytical derivations as the experimental conditions may not meet the requirements of their optimal estimation, particularly in clinical settings. CONCLUSION The use of a common average for EEG electrical reference is concluded to be the most appropriate choice for a quantitative, functional BHI assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Candia-Rivera
- Bioengineering and Robotics Research Center E. Piaggio and the Department of Information Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Vincenzo Catrambone
- Bioengineering and Robotics Research Center E. Piaggio and the Department of Information Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Gaetano Valenza
- Bioengineering and Robotics Research Center E. Piaggio and the Department of Information Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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Kołodziej A, Magnuski M, Ruban A, Brzezicka A. No relationship between frontal alpha asymmetry and depressive disorders in a multiverse analysis of five studies. eLife 2021; 10:e60595. [PMID: 34037520 PMCID: PMC8154036 DOI: 10.7554/elife.60595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2020] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
For decades, the frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) - a disproportion in EEG alpha oscillations power between right and left frontal channels - has been one of the most popular measures of depressive disorders (DD) in electrophysiology studies. Patients with DD often manifest a left-sided FAA: relatively higher alpha power in the left versus right frontal lobe. Recently, however, multiple studies failed to confirm this effect, questioning its reproducibility. Our purpose is to thoroughly test the validity of FAA in depression by conducting a multiverse analysis - running many related analyses and testing the sensitivity of the effect to changes in the analytical approach - on data from five independent studies. Only 13 of the 270 analyses revealed significant results. We conclude the paper by discussing theoretical assumptions underlying the FAA and suggest a list of guidelines for improving and expanding the EEG data analysis in future FAA studies.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | - Aneta Brzezicka
- University of Social Sciences and HumanitiesWarsawPoland
- Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Department of NeurosurgeryLos AngelesUnited States
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44
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Haehl W, Mirifar A, Quirin M, Beckmann J. Differentiating reactivity and regulation: Evidence for a role of prefrontal asymmetry in affect regulation. Biol Psychol 2021; 162:108107. [PMID: 33933555 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108107] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2020] [Revised: 04/07/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
Prefrontal asymmetry (PFA) has originally been referred to as "affective style" and is said to be associated with an individual's personality. Therefore, previous research has focused on finding a link between PFA and trait variables associated with affective processing, such as the behavioral activation and inhibition systems (BAS/BIS). However, recent evidence suggests that PFA might be involved in regulatory processes rather than initial affective reactions. Here, we investigated if failure-related action orientation (AOF), as a personality variable reflecting the ability to disengage from negative experiences, is related to PFA. Forty-seven participants completed two trait questionnaires to assess BAS/BIS and AOF, followed by 8 min of resting EEG measurement. Results showed that higher AOF scores predicted a higher relative left-hemispheric PFA when BAS/BIS was controlled for. The findings suggest that a suppression effect might account for the inconsistencies in the literature regarding the association between PFA and BAS/BIS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wiebke Haehl
- Department of Sport and Health Sciences, Chair of Sport Psychology, Technical University of Munich, Germany.
| | - Arash Mirifar
- Department of Sport and Health Sciences, Chair of Sport Psychology, Technical University of Munich, Germany.
| | - Markus Quirin
- School of Management, Chair of Psychology, Technical University of Munich, Germany; Personality Psychology and Motivation, Private University of Applied Science, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Jürgen Beckmann
- Department of Sport and Health Sciences, Chair of Sport Psychology, Technical University of Munich, Germany; School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland, Australia.
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45
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Berry SC, Wise RG, Lawrence AD, Lancaster TM. Extended-amygdala intrinsic functional connectivity networks: A population study. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:1594-1616. [PMID: 33314443 PMCID: PMC7978137 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25314] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2020] [Revised: 11/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Pre-clinical and human neuroimaging research implicates the extended-amygdala (ExtA) (including the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis [BST] and central nucleus of the amygdala [CeA]) in networks mediating negative emotional states associated with stress and substance-use behaviours. The extent to which individual ExtA structures form a functionally integrated unit is controversial. We utilised a large sample (n > 1,000 healthy young adult humans) to compare the intrinsic functional connectivity networks (ICNs) of the BST and CeA using task-free functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from the Human Connectome Project. We assessed whether inter-individual differences within these ICNs were related to two principal components representing negative disposition and alcohol use. Building on recent primate evidence, we tested whether within BST-CeA intrinsic functional connectivity (iFC) was heritable and further examined co-heritability with our principal components. We demonstrate the BST and CeA to have discrete, but largely overlapping ICNs similar to previous findings. We found no evidence that within BST-CeA iFC was heritable; however, post hoc analyses found significant BST iFC heritability with the broader superficial and centromedial amygdala regions. There were no significant correlations or co-heritability associations with our principal components either across the ICNs or for specific BST-Amygdala iFC. Possible differences in phenotype associations across task-free, task-based, and clinical fMRI are discussed, along with suggestions for more causal investigative paradigms that make use of the now well-established ExtA ICNs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel C. Berry
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of PsychologyCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
| | - Richard G. Wise
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences"G. D'Annunzio University" of Chieti‐PescaraChietiItaly
| | - Andrew D. Lawrence
- Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre (CUBRIC), School of PsychologyCardiff UniversityCardiffUK
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Riddle J, Rubinow DR, Girdler S, Frohlich F. Disinhibition of right inferior frontal gyrus underlies alpha asymmetry in women with low testosterone. Biol Psychol 2021; 161:108061. [PMID: 33705806 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2021.108061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 02/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Asymmetrical expression of alpha oscillations in the frontal cortex, increased left relative to right, is a phenotype associated with increased behavioral inhibition and mood-related psychiatric illnesses. However, investigations of frontal alpha asymmetry in mood-disorders have yielded inconsistent findings. A better understanding of factors that contribute to individual differences is required to establish a useful biomarker for the diagnosis and treatment of mood and stress related disorders. A novel factor is hormone concentration, as steroid hormones play a prominent role in regulating mood and stress. To investigate this question, concentrations of testosterone and estradiol were sampled. Multiple linear regression revealed that low levels of testosterone correlated with greater frontal alpha asymmetry in women. Source localization found that frontal asymmetry was driven by decreased alpha power in right inferior frontal gyrus that correlated with increased behavioral inhibition in women. Together, these findings might explain inconsistencies in previous investigation on frontal alpha asymmetry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Justin Riddle
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 304 MacNider Hall, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA; Center for Women's Mood Disorders, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Neurosciences Hospital, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA; Carolina Center for Neurostimulation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 6201 Mary Ellen Jones Building, 116 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
| | - David R Rubinow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 304 MacNider Hall, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA; Center for Women's Mood Disorders, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Neurosciences Hospital, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
| | - Susan Girdler
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 304 MacNider Hall, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA; Center for Women's Mood Disorders, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Neurosciences Hospital, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
| | - Flavio Frohlich
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 304 MacNider Hall, 101 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA; Carolina Center for Neurostimulation, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 6201 Mary Ellen Jones Building, 116 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA; Department of Neurology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 170 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA; Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 5200 Medical Biomolecular Research Building, 111 Mason Farm Road, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA; Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 10010 Mary Ellen Jones, 116 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA; Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 116 Manning Drive, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599, USA.
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Dell'Acqua C, Ghiasi S, Messerotti Benvenuti S, Greco A, Gentili C, Valenza G. Increased functional connectivity within alpha and theta frequency bands in dysphoria: A resting-state EEG study. J Affect Disord 2021; 281:199-207. [PMID: 33326893 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2020.12.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2020] [Revised: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 12/05/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The understanding of neurophysiological correlates underlying the risk of developing depression may have a significant impact on its early and objective identification. Research has identified abnormal resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) power and functional connectivity patterns in major depression. However, the entity of dysfunctional EEG dynamics in dysphoria is yet unknown. METHODS 32-channel EEG was recorded in 26 female individuals with dysphoria and in 38 age-matched, female healthy controls. EEG power spectra and alpha asymmetry in frontal and posterior channels were calculated in a 4-minute resting condition. An EEG functional connectivity analysis was conducted through phase locking values, particularly mean phase coherence. RESULTS While individuals with dysphoria did not differ from controls in EEG spectra and asymmetry, they exhibited dysfunctional brain connectivity. Particularly, in the theta band (4-8 Hz), participants with dysphoria showed increased connectivity between right frontal and central areas and right temporal and left occipital areas. Moreover, in the alpha band (8-12 Hz), dysphoria was associated with increased connectivity between right and left prefrontal cortex and between frontal and central-occipital areas bilaterally. LIMITATIONS All participants belonged to the female gender and were relatively young. Mean phase coherence did not allow to compute the causal and directional relation between brain areas. CONCLUSIONS An increased EEG functional connectivity in the theta and alpha bands characterizes dysphoria. These patterns may be associated with the excessive self-focus and ruminative thinking that typifies depressive symptoms. EEG connectivity patterns may represent a promising measure to identify individuals with a higher risk of developing depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carola Dell'Acqua
- Department of General Psychogy, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8 - 35131, Padua, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B - 35131, Padua, Italy.
| | - Shadi Ghiasi
- Department of Information Engineering & Bioengineering and Robotics Research Center E. Piaggio, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Simone Messerotti Benvenuti
- Department of General Psychogy, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8 - 35131, Padua, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B - 35131, Padua, Italy
| | - Alberto Greco
- Department of Information Engineering & Bioengineering and Robotics Research Center E. Piaggio, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Claudio Gentili
- Department of General Psychogy, University of Padua, Via Venezia 8 - 35131, Padua, Italy; Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC), University of Padua, Via Orus 2/B - 35131, Padua, Italy
| | - Gaetano Valenza
- Department of Information Engineering & Bioengineering and Robotics Research Center E. Piaggio, School of Engineering, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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Major Depression and Brain Asymmetry in a Decision-Making Task with Negative and Positive Feedback. Symmetry (Basel) 2020. [DOI: 10.3390/sym12122118] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Depressed patients are characterized by hypoactivity of the left and hyperactivity of the right frontal areas during the resting state. Depression is also associated with impaired decision-making, which reflects multiple cognitive, affective, and attentional processes, some of which may be lateralized. The aim of this study was to investigate brain asymmetry during a decision-making task performed in negative and positive feedback conditions in patients with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) in comparison to healthy control participants. The electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded from 60 MDD patients and 60 healthy participants while performing a multi-stage decision-making task. Frontal, central, and parietal alpha asymmetry were analyzed with EEGlab/ERPlab software. Evoked potential responses (ERPs) showed general lateralization suggestive of an initial right dominance developing into a more complex pattern of asymmetry across different scalp areas as information was processed. The MDD group showed impaired mood prior to performance, and decreased confidence during performance in comparison to the control group. The resting state frontal alpha asymmetry showed lateralization in the healthy group only. Task-induced alpha power and ERP P100 and P300 amplitudes were more informative biomarkers of depression during decision making. Asymmetry coefficients based on task alpha power and ERP amplitudes showed consistency in the dynamical changes during the decision-making stages. Depression was characterized by a lack of left dominance during the resting state and left hypoactivity during the task baseline and subsequent decision-making process. Findings add to understanding of the functional significance of lateralized brain processes in depression.
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Pavlov YG, Kotchoubey B. Oscillatory brain activity and maintenance of verbal and visual working memory: A systematic review. Psychophysiology 2020; 59:e13735. [PMID: 33278030 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2020] [Revised: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 11/10/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
Brain oscillations likely play a significant role in the storage of information in working memory (WM). Despite the wide popularity of the topic, current attempts to summarize the research in the field are narrative reviews. We address this gap by providing a descriptive systematic review, in which we investigated oscillatory correlates of maintenance of verbal and visual information in WM. The systematic approach enabled us to challenge some common views popularized by previous research. The identified literature (100 EEG/MEG studies) highlighted the importance of theta oscillations in verbal WM: frontal midline theta enhanced with load in most verbal studies, while more equivocal results have been obtained in visual studies. Increasing WM load affected alpha activity in most studies, but the direction of the effect was inconsistent: the ratio of studies that found alpha increase versus decrease with increasing load was 80/20% in the verbal WM domain and close to 60/40% in the visual domain. Alpha asymmetry (left < right) was a common finding in both verbal and visual WM studies. Beta and gamma activity studies yielded the least convincing data: a diversity in the spatial and frequency distribution of beta activity prevented us from making a coherent conclusion; gamma rhythm was virtually neglected in verbal WM studies with no systematic support for sustained gamma changes during the delay in EEG studies in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuri G Pavlov
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Ural Federal University, Ekaterinburg, Russian Federation
| | - Boris Kotchoubey
- Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Rodrigues J, Allen JJB, Müller M, Hewig J. Methods matter: An examination of factors that moderate predictions of the capability model concerning the relationship of frontal asymmetry to trait measures. Biol Psychol 2020; 158:107993. [PMID: 33259911 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2020.107993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/23/2020] [Revised: 11/10/2020] [Accepted: 11/16/2020] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The capability model of anterior asymmetry integrates trait-related and state-related frontal asymmetry research by proposing that frontal asymmetry is dependent on relevant traits if they are activated by a situation. However, differences in experimental design and EEG recording methods haven't been fully explored. We investigated 56 participants under three different situational paradigms (virtual T-maze, mental imagery, movies), varying the stimulus and type of measurement concerning frontal asymmetry. We predicted that "strong" situational manipulations (virtual T-maze, frontal asymmetry measured as event-related desynchronization) would eclipse relationships between frontal asymmetry and relevant traits, whereas "weaker" task manipulations, measured during longer time periods, would enhance relationships to relevant traits compared to frontal asymmetry at rest. The results confirmed these expectations, stressing the importance of stimulus characteristics, trait measures and recording methods with respect to the capability model. Additionally, a revision of the capability model to an inverse U-shaped quadratic relationship might be appropriate.
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