Quantitative Electroencephalographic (qEEG) Characterisation and Biomarker Identification of Generalised Paediatric
Arundhati Kumari1, Kamlesh Jha1, Tribhuwan Kumar1
1Department of Physiology, AIIMS Patna, Bihar, India.
Insights
Quantitative EEG analysis reveals distinct patterns in children with seizures, identifying potential biomarkers for objective assessment. These findings aid in understanding neurophysiological changes in paediatric epilepsy.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Medical Imaging
- Biomarkers
Background:
- Pediatric epilepsy presents diagnostic challenges due to seizure mimics and atypical presentations on electroencephalography (EEG).
- Epilepsy in children can lead to significant long-term health issues and morbidity globally.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify quantitative EEG (qEEG) biomarkers for diagnosing pediatric seizures.
- To explore spectral features from conventional EEG records for objective seizure assessment.
Main Methods:
- Recruited 66 pediatric subjects (2-15 years) with generalized seizures and matched healthy controls.
- Recorded 32-channel EEG data and extracted quantitative spectral features using Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) in MATLAB.
- Compared spectral features between seizure and control groups to identify diagnostic markers.
Main Results:
- Children with seizures exhibited higher alpha power in both hemispheres and lower beta power in the left hemisphere compared to controls.
- Significant cortical asymmetries were observed, particularly in theta, delta, and alpha power across different regions.
- Specific asymmetry indices highlighted differences in temporal and occipitotemporal regions.
Conclusions:
- Quantitative EEG analysis reveals characteristic alterations in pediatric seizure populations.
- These qEEG findings suggest neurophysiological implications affecting arousal, attention, and inhibitory control.
- The identified qEEG features may assist in the objective assessment of seizures in children.
Background:
Epilepsy possesses significant long-term health sequelae and potential morbidity among children globally. A diagnosis of seizures can often be challenging in the paediatric population owing to seizure mimics and absence of classical features in clinical as well as electroencephalographic (EEG) presentations.
Purpose:
The objective of the study is to explore potential EEG biomarkers using quantitative analysis of conventional EEG records of subjects with seizure in paediatric populations.
Method:
66 subjects with generalised seizures in the age group of 2-15 years had been recruited along with an equal number of age-matched healthy control subjects. Readings obtained from a 32-channel EEG were recorded along with the demographic details of the subjects. Using the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) in the MATLAB environment, quantitative spectral features were extracted and compared between the groups and within the group to explore EEG markers related to the generalised seizures in the study population.
Results:
The case group showed significantly higher alpha power in both left (17.86 vs 15.06 µV2/Hz) and right (20.76 vs 16.12 µV2/Hz) hemispheres compared to the controls. The case group had lower beta power in the left hemisphere (33.34 vs 35.52 µV2/Hz) but no difference in the right hemisphere. Significant asymmetries were observed across all cortical regions, including the temporal region showing the highest theta and delta asymmetry (asymmetry indices of -0.142 for both), whereas alpha asymmetry was highest in the occipitotemporal regions (asymmetry indices -0.125 and -0.141, respectively).
Conclusion:
The study reveals a complex pattern of characteristic quantitative electroencephalographic (qEEG) alterations in the paediatric seizure population suggestive of significant neurophysiological implications, including alterations in arousal, attention and inhibitory control mechanisms and the features may be of some value in objective seizure assessment using EEG.
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