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Theta-band EEG functional connectivity during emotional music in disorders of consciousness: wPLI differences between
Sifan Wang1,2,3, Chen Chen1,2,3, Xintong Zhang1,2,3
1Department of Neurology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
Background:
With the increasing number of patients with disorders of consciousness (DOC), accurate diagnosis-particularly differentiation between the minimally conscious state (MCS) patients and the unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS) patients-is critical for subsequent treatment planning.
Objective:
To investigate differences in theta-band electroencephalography (EEG) functional connectivity between MCS and UWS patients during emotional music stimulation, and to explore their responsiveness to different emotional music conditions.
Methods:
Forty-eight DOC patients were enrolled (MCS, n = 32; UWS, n = 16). EEG was recorded during the resting state and while listening to four emotion-specific music conditions (sad, fearful, happy, and peaceful). Theta-band functional connectivity was quantified across four scalp regions (frontal, parieto-occipital, temporal, and central), with weighted phase lag index (wPLI) as the primary metric and phase-locking value (PLV) and coherence (Coh) as supplementary measures. Between-group comparisons (MCS vs. UWS) and within-group comparisons (each music condition vs. resting state) were performed to evaluate group differences in theta-band connectivity and its responsiveness to emotional music.
Results:
Between-group analyses showed that significant differences between MCS and UWS under rest and emotional music conditions were mainly located in frontal, parieto-occipital, and central regions (p < 0.05), whereas no consistent significant differences were observed in the temporal region. Overall, theta-band wPLI was higher in the UWS group than in the MCS group. Within-group analyses further demonstrated that, in the MCS group, frontal theta-band wPLI increased significantly after listening to sad (p = 0.019) and peaceful (p = 0.016) music, while no significant within-group changes were observed in the UWS group.
Conclusion:
In the context of emotional music stimulation, θ-band wPLI and its dynamic modulatory capacity may reflect differences in the reactivity of residual networks between MCS and UWS patients.
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