Multifractal analysis as an aid in the diagnostics of mental disorders

The digitalization of EEGs (electroencephalogram) has showed new possibilities for analyzing electrical activity of brain. This has offered new methods, e.g. multifractal analysis of 1/f(beta) EEG rhythms fluctuations. It is one of highly mathematical methods feasible in routine practice now that modern personal computers (PCs) have reached sufficient computing power. In this study, we applied the multifractal analysis of 1/f(beta) EEG rhythms fluctuations in 33 patients suffering from schizophrenia and schizophrenia-like syndromes, and we had 23 healthy controls. Our results indicated that the patients suffering from schizophrenia have statistically different values compared with the controls. This method is rather easy and quick to perform when using a standard PC. It may have the potential to become an important tool in the diagnostics and analysis of the patients with schizophrenia and schizophreniformic psychoses. It can help to understand the quasi-chaotic processes in neural processing and narrow the gap between the phenomenological psychiatry and bio-psychiatry.