Functional connectivity of major depression disorder using ongoing EEG during music perception

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Medical Imaging

Background:

• Functional connectivity (FC) in major depression disorder (MDD) remains underexplored under naturalistic conditions.
• Investigating brain network topology during continuous stimuli like music perception is crucial for understanding MDD.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine frequency-specific FC in MDD patients during music perception using ongoing electroencephalogram (EEG).
• To identify distinct brain network patterns associated with MDD.
• To determine the most effective frequency band for MDD diagnosis.

Main Methods:

• Utilized Phase Lag Index (PLI) for connectivity matrices and graph theory for network topology analysis across frequency bands.
• Employed classification methods, including Support Vector Machine (SVM), to identify discriminating frequency bands for MDD diagnosis.

Main Results:

• MDD patients displayed decreased delta band and increased beta band connectivity during music perception.
• Unlike healthy controls, MDD patients lacked left-hemisphere dominance in brain network activity.
• SVM achieved high classification performance (89.7% accuracy, 89.4% sensitivity, 89.9% specificity) in the beta band.

Conclusions:

• MDD is associated with altered FC in delta and beta frequency bands.
• The beta frequency band demonstrates significant potential for aiding MDD diagnosis.
• Findings offer insights into MDD brain network topology during auditory stimulation.