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Altered Electroencephalographic Resting-State Large-Scale Brain Network Dynamics in Euthymic Bipolar Disorder
Alena Damborská1,2, Camille Piguet3, Jean-Michel Aubry3,4
1Functional Brain Mapping Laboratory, Campus Biotech, Department of Basic Neurosciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Frontiers in Psychiatry
|December 6, 2019
Summary
Euthymic bipolar disorder (BD) patients exhibit altered brain network dynamics, specifically in electroencephalography (EEG) microstate A. This suggests a potential electrophysiological trait characteristic of BD, even when symptoms are not active.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Computational Neuroscience
Background:
- Neuroimaging studies indicate disrupted resting-state functional brain networks in bipolar disorder (BD).
- Electroencephalography (EEG) studies have identified altered temporal dynamics of functional EEG microstates during depressive episodes in affective disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether euthymic patients with BD exhibit deviant resting-state large-scale brain network dynamics.
- To explore alterations in the temporal characteristics of EEG microstates in euthymic BD patients compared to healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Utilized high-density EEG to analyze resting-state functional microstates in 17 euthymic adults with BD (on-medication) and 17 matched healthy controls.
- Assessed state and trait anxiety using scores ranging from 20 to 80.
- Performed microstate analysis to identify differences in duration, coverage, and occurrence.
Main Results:
- Identified five distinct microstates (A-E) through global clustering across all subjects.
- Observed significantly increased occurrence and coverage of microstate A in BD patients compared to controls.
- Found no significant correlation between microstate A alterations and anxiety scores.
Conclusions:
- Provided neurophysiological evidence for altered large-scale brain network dynamics in BD patients.
- Suggested that the increased prevalence of microstate A may represent an electrophysiological trait characteristic of BD.
- Highlighted the potential of EEG microstate analysis as a biomarker for BD.
