Observational Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Jan 19, 2024; 14(1): 128-140
Published online Jan 19, 2024. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i1.128
Abnormalities of electroencephalography microstates in patients with depression and their association with cognitive function
Rui-Jie Peng, Yu Fan, Jin Li, Feng Zhu, Qing Tian, Xiao-Bin Zhang
Rui-Jie Peng, Suzhou Medical College, Soochow University, Suzhou 215123, Jiangsu Province, China
Yu Fan, Jin Li, Feng Zhu, Qing Tian, Xiao-Bin Zhang, Department of Psychiatry, Suzhou Psychiatric Hospital, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou 215137, Jiangsu Province, China
Co-first authors: Rui-Jie Peng and Yu Fan.
Co-corresponding authors: Qing Tian and Xiao-Bin Zhang.
Author contributions: Peng RJ and Fan Y were responsible for data collection, data curation, and writing original draft; Li J and Zhu F were involved in supervision and review; Tian Q and Zhang XB as co-corresponding author, participated in conceptualization, funding acquisition, supervision and editing; all authors reviewed the manuscript.
Supported by Suzhou Key Technologies Program, No. SKY2021063; Suzhou Clinical Medical Center for Mood Disorders, No. Szlcyxzx202109; Suzhou Clinical Key Disciplines for Geriatric Psychiatry, No. SZXK202116; Jiangsu Province Social Development Project, No. BE2020764; the Gusu Health Talents Project, No. GSWS2022091; the Science and Technology Program of Suzhou, No. SKYD2022039 and No. SKY2023075; and the Doctoral Scientific Research Foundation of Suzhou Guangji Hospital, No. 2023B01.
Institutional review board statement: The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Suzhou Guangji Hospital Institutional Review Board, Approval No. 2020008.
Informed consent statement: All clinical trials were obtained informed consent.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest was disclosed for each author.
Data sharing statement: The data are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao-Bin Zhang, MD, PhD, Chief Physician, Department of Psychiatry, Suzhou Psychiatric Hospital, The Affiliated Guangji Hospital of Soochow University, No. 11 Guangqian Road, Suzhou 215137, Jiangsu Province, China. zhangxiaobim@163.com
Received: September 29, 2023
Peer-review started: September 29, 2023
First decision: November 2, 2023
Revised: November 9, 2023
Accepted: December 22, 2023
Article in press: December 22, 2023
Published online: January 19, 2024
Processing time: 111 Days and 21 Hours
Abstract
BACKGROUND

A growing number of recent studies have explored underlying activity in the brain by measuring electroencephalography (EEG) in people with depression. However, the consistency of findings on EEG microstates in patients with depression is poor, and few studies have reported the relationship between EEG microstates, cognitive scales, and depression severity scales.

AIM

To investigate the EEG microstate characteristics of patients with depression and their association with cognitive functions.

METHODS

A total of 24 patients diagnosed with depression and 32 healthy controls were included in this study using the Structured Clinical Interview for Disease for The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition. We collected information relating to demographic and clinical characteristics, as well as data from the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS; Chinese version) and EEG.

RESULTS

Compared with the controls, the duration, occurrence, and contribution of microstate C were significantly higher [depression (DEP): Duration 84.58 ± 24.35, occurrence 3.72 ± 0.56, contribution 30.39 ± 8.59; CON: Duration 72.77 ± 10.23, occurrence 3.41 ± 0.36, contribution 24.46 ± 4.66; Duration F = 6.02, P = 0.049; Occurrence F = 6.19, P = 0.049; Contribution F = 10.82, P = 0.011] while the duration, occurrence, and contribution of microstate D were significantly lower (DEP: Duration 70.00 ± 15.92, occurrence 3.18 ± 0.71, contribution 22.48 ± 8.12; CON: Duration 85.46 ± 10.23, occurrence 3.54 ± 0.41, contribution 28.25 ± 5.85; Duration F = 19.18, P < 0.001; Occurrence F = 5.79, P = 0.050; Contribution F = 9.41, P = 0.013) in patients with depression. A positive correlation was observed between the visuospatial/constructional scores of the RBANS scale and the transition probability of microstate class C to B (r = 0.405, P = 0.049).

CONCLUSION

EEG microstate, especially C and D, is a possible biomarker in depression. Patients with depression had a more frequent transition from microstate C to B, which may relate to more negative rumination and visual processing.

Keywords: Depression; Electroencephalography; Microstates; Cognitive functions

Core Tip: This study aims to explore electroencephalography microstates in patients with depression and the correlation between microstates and cognitive scales. Through statistical analyses, we found parameters of the microstate C were higher while microstate D were lower in patients with depression compared with the controls. A positive correlation was observed between the visuospatial/constructional scores and the transition probability of microstate C to B. Therefore, we speculate that microstates C and D, is a possible biomarker in depression. Patients with depression had a more frequent transition from microstate C to B, which may relate to more negative rumination and visual processing.