Impaired functional connectivity at EEG alpha and theta frequency bands in major depression

• Published in: Human brain mapping 2007-03, Vol.28 (3), p.247-261
• Main Authors: Fingelkurts, Andrew A., Fingelkurts, Alexander A., Rytsälä, Heikki, Suominen, Kirsi, Isometsä, Erkki, Kähkönen, Seppo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Alpha Rhythm; asymmetry; Biological and medical sciences; Brain - physiopathology; brain hemisphere; Brain Mapping; cortex areas; Cortical Synchronization; Depression - physiopathology; Depressive Disorder, Major - physiopathology; distributed property; Electrodiagnosis. Electric activity recording; Female; General aspects; Humans; Investigative techniques, diagnostic techniques (general aspects); large-scale cortical system; Male; Medical sciences; metastability; Nervous system; neuronal assembly; Planification. Prevention (methods). Intervention. Evaluation; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Radiodiagnosis. Nmr imagery. Nmr spectrometry; semantic framework; structural/operational synchrony; Theta Rhythm
• ISSN: 1065-9471; 1097-0193
• DOI: 10.1002/hbm.20275

Recent reports on functional brain imaging in major depression have lead to an assumption that observed psychopathology might be related to an altered brain functional connectivity. Our hypothesis was that an increase in brain functional connectivity occurs in major depression. As a measure of functional connectivity, the electroencephalogram (EEG) structural synchrony approach was used in 12 medication‐free depressive outpatients and 10 control subjects. Differences in the number and strength of structurally synchronized EEG patterns were compared between groups. In depressive patients the number and strength of short cortex functional connections were significantly larger for the left than for the right hemisphere, while the number and strength of long functional connections were significantly larger for the right than for the left hemisphere. Some of the functional connections were positively correlated with the severity of depression, thus being predictive. These were short‐range anterior, posterior, and left hemisphere functional connections for the alpha frequency band and short‐range anterior functional connections for the theta frequency band. The topology of the most representative functional connections among all patients with major depression indicated that the right anterior and left posterior brain parts may discriminate depressive patients from healthy controls. The obtained data support our hypothesis that there is an increase in brain functional connectivity in major depression. This finding was interpreted within the semantic framework, where different specialization of left (monosemantic context) and right (polysemantic context) hemispheres is functionally insufficient in patients with depression. Hum Brain Mapp, 2007. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.