The electroencephalogram (EEG) as a research tool in human behavior genetics: Psychological examinations in healthy males with various inherited EEG variants

Summary In the first section of this paper, various research designs in human behavior genetics are compared. In this context, the commonly used concept of biometric genetics is critically evaluated from the point of view of science theory. It is contrasted with the Mendelian gene concept, which, in principle, leads to a much deeper theoretical understanding by offering clues for basic mechanisms. To explore this advantage fully, a research strategy is needed that first looks for genetic variability in a physiological parameter of possible importance for human behavior and then tries to explore the influence of this parameter on the function of the human brain and on behavior. If possible, this genetic parameter should be selected in a way that inferences as to the mechanism of its influence on behavior become feasible. Such genetic variability is provided by the hereditary variants of the normal EEG discovered by earlier work (cf. Vogel, 1970). In the following section, a research program on 298 adult healthy males, most of them soldiers, with various inherited EEG variants is described. Apart from controls with inconspicuous EEGs, this material comprises probands with the following EEG variants: low-voltage (N); low-voltage borderline (NG); monotonous -waves (R); occipital fast -variants (BO); fronto-precentral -groups (BG), and diffuse -waves (BD). In addition to an EEG examination, the probands were examined with various test methods measuring intelligence (IST; LPS; Raven); working speed and concentration (d-2; KLT); personal attitudes (MMPI; 16 PF; RKS); and sensory and motor abilities (flicker fusion; tachistoscopy; reaction time to optic, acoustic and combined stimuli; two-hand dexterity; pursuit rotor; tapping).In a supplementary twin study on 52 male adult twin pairs (26 MZ, 26 DZ), heritabilities were determined for the test scores included in the main study. For most test scores, heritabilities are relatively low; the data are compared with those from the literature. We conclude that the test methods utilized in the main study (on EEG variants) are expected to demonstrate at the most a small to moderate correlation of the EEGs with psychological phenotypes as defined by test examinations, even if a major part of the genetic variability underlying these phenotypes would be due to differences in brain physiology that could be revealed by EEG variation.     

Canonical bicoherence analysis of dynamic EEG data

Bicoherence has been used in quantifying quadratic phase coupling (QPC) in electroencephalography (EEG) signals. However, for high-dimensional EEG signals, the calculations of traditional auto– and cross–bicoherences of signals from multiple electrodes are computationally very expensive. This has been compounded by the recognition of the non-stationary character of EEG signals. This paper introduces a new approach, the time-varying canonical bicoherence (CBC) by short-time weighted Fourier transforms, for analyzing QPC nonlinearities of dynamic EEG signals. This new method shows both computational efficiency and simple interpretation of estimated canonical bicoherences. The canonical bicoherence analysis of EEG records, during a human visual stimulus-driven cognitive process, put into evidence of quadratic phase couplings of Beta waves and Delta waves in the frontal regions.     

基于关联维数和Lyapunov指数高频脑电非线性动力学研究

目的:探讨利用非线性动力学理论特征值来区分老年人和青年人脑电的差异。方法:采用非线性动力学的关联维数和lyapunov指数对老年组和青年组的安静闭眼、安静睁眼和N-back字母记忆事件等的高频脑电进行特征提取,对特征值进行统计分析,分析两组特征值之间的差别。结果:安静闭眼和安静睁眼事件下,老年组多数导联的关联维数和lyapunov指数的特征值与青年组的特征值存在显著差异(P均0.05);N-back字母记忆事件下,老人多数导联的关联维数特征值大于青年的特征值,但老年组只有14导联的lyapunov指数特征值大于青年组的特征值(P均0.05)。不管有无思维活动,人脑在矢状线上的五个导联Fz、FCz、Cz、CPz、Pz的关联维数和lyapunov指数的特征值都处在峰值处。结论:老年人相比青年人脑功能弱、能量发放少;在思维活动情况下,老年需要更多地发放能量来完成相同的思维活动。安静闭眼和睁眼以及N-back字母记忆事件等三个事件的关联维数和lyapunov指数特征值可用来区分老年组和青年组脑电的差异。     

The roles of motor activity and environmental enrichment in intellectual disability

In people with intellectual disabilities, an enriched environment can stimulate the acquisition of motor skills and could partially repair neuronal impairment thanks to exploration and motor activity. A deficit in environmental and motor stimulation leads to low scores in intelligence tests and can cause serious motor skill problems. Although studies in humans do not give much evidence for explaining basic mechanisms of intellectual disability and for highlighting improvements due to enriched environmental stimulation, animal models have been valuable in the investigation of these conditions. Here, we discuss the role of environmental enrichment in four intellectual disabilities: Foetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD), Down, Rett, and Fragile X syndromes.     

Association between individual EEG characteristics and the level of intelligence

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between individual electroencephalogram (EEG) characteristics in the resting state and the level of nonverbal intelligence. The study involved 77 students of Demidov Yaroslavl State University. Analysis of the relationship between IQ and spectral parameters of EEG theta, alpha, and two subbands of beta oscillations revealed that the amplitude and power of alphaband EEG oscillations and low frequency beta-band EEG oscillations were positively correlated with the performance in the nonverbal intelligence test. The variety of brain periodic regimes was assessed using the correlation dimension (CD) of EEG. The correlation dimension can be used to quantify the degree of complexity of the nonlinear dynamical system. It was found that the value of the EEG correlation dimension was positively associated with the level of intelligence. The periodicity of the EEG signal was studied using autocorrelation analysis. It was shown that the autocorrelogram duration was negatively associated with IQ and the autocorrelogram amplitude was positively associated with IQ. A regression equation for predicting the level of nonverbal intelligence based on the power of theta- and beta-band oscillations, alpha-band oscillation indexes, and the amplitude and autocorrelation characteristics of the EEG signal was obtained.     

The spatial metric of brain underlying the temporal metric of EEG and thought

Multiplying memory span by mental speed, we obtain the information entropy of short-term memory capacity, which is rate-limiting for cognitive functions and corresponds with EEG power spectral density. From psychometric and EEG data follows a fundamental of about 3.14 Hz. The number of harmonics (n = 1, 2,...,9) is identical with memory span, and the eigenvalues of the EEG impulse response are represented by the zero-crossings up to the convolved fundamental, the P300. The difference T of 4.42 ms between the 8th and the 9th harmonic is the smallest time window of conscious information processing. Shannon's sampling theorem allows the replacement of any band-limited signal by m discrete sequences of T without loss of any information. Brain architecture can be understood in terms of sequences of delaying chains. Acting as a wavefront tracking array, scaled in relation of mT and in such a way also expressing the metric of eigenvalues, widths of orientation columns match with phase reversal after a zero-crossing and lengths of dendritic trees with run-length of travelling harmonics.     

突触功能障碍大鼠模型EE G 频域特征

本文旨在探讨突触功能障碍大鼠模型在额叶、颞叶和海马这些与认知功能有关的脑区EEG频域特征。先用海马CA1区Aβ1-40加微量注射法制备突触功能障碍模型,用Morris水迷宫行为学测试系统检测其学习记忆能力;然后记录上述脑区的EEG并做频谱分析。结果显示：（1）模型组在第3,4、5、6训练时间段的平均逃避潜伏期较正常组明显延长,和第2训练时间段的相比较,正常组第5训练时间段平均逃避潜伏期明显缩短,模型组到第7训练时间段平均逃避潜伏期开始明显缩短（P〈0．05）;撤去平台后,模型组在原平台所在象限的时间百分比明显降低（P〈0．05）。（2）模型组的EEG表现为α节律慢化,功率下降,其主峰频率左移2Hz,并且额叶、颞叶和海马的δ波和θ波功率不同程度地增高。由此Aβ1-40微量注射法成功制备了突触功能障碍大鼠模型。该模型大鼠的学习记忆能力降低,其频谱特征表现为α节律慢化,功率下降或消失,慢波（δ波和θ波）活动增多,功率不同程度地增高。这些与阿尔茨海默病（Alzheimer’s disease,AD）的EEG一致,可为以后对突触功能障碍时受累皮层进行深入的可塑性和神经再生的研究提供电生理基础。     

复杂性热性惊厥脑电图特征与癫痫发生的相关性

目的：探讨复杂性热性惊厥脑电图特征与癫痫发生的相关性。方法：2012年3 月到2014 年5 月选择在我院诊治为复杂性热 性惊厥的呼吸道感染患儿86 例作为观察组,同期选择在我院诊治的非热性惊厥的呼吸道感染患儿86 例作为对照组,两组都进 行脑电图监测与认知功能判定,对癫痫发生情况进行判定与分析。结果：观察组的言语智商、行为智商与总智商评分都明显低于 对照组(P<0.05)。观察组的癫痫发生率为9.3 %,脑电图异常率为8.1 %;而对照组的癫痫发生率为1.2 %,脑电图异常率为2.3 %, 对比差异都有统计学意义(P<0.05)。在观察组患儿中,Spearman 相关性分析显示脑电图异常与癫痫发生存在明显正向相关性(r=0. 349,P<0.05)。结论：复杂性热性惊厥伴随有脑电图异常,与癫痫发生存在明显正向相关性,损害患儿的认知功能。     

Decision Tree in Working Memory Task Effectively Characterizes EEG Signals in Healthy Aging Adults

BackgroundThe changes in electroencephalogram (EEG) signals that reflect the changes in physiological structure, cognitive functions, and activities have been observed in healthy aging adults. It is unknown that when the brain aging initiates and whether these age-related alterations can be associated with incipient neurodegenerative diseases in healthy elderly individuals.Materials and methodsWe employed feature extraction and classification methods to classify and compare the EEG signals of middle-aged and elderly age groups. This study included 20 healthy middle-aged and 20 healthy elderly subjects. The EEG signals were recorded during a resting state (eyes-open and eyes-closed) and during a working memory (WM) task using eight electrodes. The minimum redundancy maximum relevance technique was employed in the selection of the optimal feature. Four classification methods, including decision tree, support vector machine, Naïve Bayes, and K-nearest neighbor, were used to distinguish the elderly age group from the middle-aged group based on their EEG signals.ResultsIn the resting state, a good correlation was observed among absolute power delta and theta bands and aging, whereas between beta absolute power and aging, a WM task correlation was observed. The results also indicated that the mean frequency and absolute power might be useful for the prediction and classification of EEG signals in aging individuals. Furthermore, the use of the decision tree method in a WM task state distinguished the elderly group from the middle-aged group with an accuracy of 87.5%.ConclusionsWorking memory could play a vital role in the optimization of classification of EEG signals in aging and discrimination of age-related issues associated with neurodegeneration.     

The comparison of motor learning performance with and without feedback

Ten individuals were divided into two feedback and no-feedback groups. The effect of abstract visual feedback was investigated in these two groups. Using eight electroencephalography (EEG) electrodes, the induced event-related desynchronization/synchronization of the EEG of three motor imagery tasks (left hand, right hand, and right foot) was analyzed by wavelet and spatial filtering methods. Linear discriminant analysis was used to classify the three imagery tasks. Each imagery task's total length was set to 3?s and 1?s of it was used for the classification. The classification result was shown to the subjects of the feedback group in a real-time manner as an abstract visual feedback. While the paired t-test of the first and third sessions of the training days confirmed the improvement of the motor imagery learning in the feedback group (p?<?0.01), the motor imagery learning of the no-feedback group was not significant.     

Visuospatial Working Memory in Toddlers with a History of Periventricular Leukomalacia: An EEG Narrow-Band Power Analysis

Background

Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL) affects white matter, but grey matter injuries have also been reported, particularly in the dorsomedial nucleus and the cortex. Both structures have been related to working memory (WM) processes. The aim of this study was to compare behavioral performances and EEG power spectra during a visuospatial working memory task (VSWMT) of toddlers with a history of PVL and healthy toddlers.

Methodology/Principal Findings

A prospective, comparative study of WM was conducted in toddlers with a history of PVL and healthy toddlers. The task responses and the EEG narrow-band power spectra during a VSWMT were compared in both groups. The EEG absolute power was analyzed during the following three conditions: baseline, attention and WM retention. The number of correct responses was higher in the healthy group (20.5±5.0) compared to the PVL group (16.1±3.9) (p = 0.04). The healthy group had absolute power EEG increases (p≤0.05) during WM compared to the attention condition in the bilateral frontal and right temporal, parietal and occipital regions in frequencies ranging from 1.17 to 2.34 Hz and in the right temporal, parietal and occipital regions in frequencies ranging from 14.06 to 15.23 Hz. In contrast, the PVL group had absolute power increases (p≤0.05) in the bilateral fronto-parietal, left central and occipital regions in frequencies that ranged from 1.17 to 3.52 Hz and in the bilateral frontal and right temporal regions in frequencies ranging from 9.37 to 19.14 Hz.

Conclusions/Significance

This study provides evidence that PVL toddlers have visuospatial WM deficits and a very different pattern of absolute power increases compared to a healthy group of toddlers, with greater absolute power in the low frequency range and widespread neuronal networks in the WM retention phase.     

Attention modulation regulates both motor and non-motor performance: a high-density EEG study in Parkinson's disease

We have previously shown that, in early stages of Parkinson's disease (PD), patients with higher reaction times are also more impaired in visual sequence learning, suggesting that movement preparation shares resources with the learning of visuospatial sequences. Here, we ascertained whether, in patients with PD, the pattern of the neural correlates of attentional processes of movement planning predict sequence learning and working memory abilities. High density Electroencephalography (EEG, 256 electrodes) was recorded in 19 patients with PD performing reaching movements in a choice reaction time paradigm. Patients were also tested with Digit Span and performed a visuomotor sequence learning task that has an important declarative learning component. We found that attenuation of alpha/beta oscillatory activity before the stimulus presentation in frontoparietal regions significantly correlated with reaction time in the choice reaction time task, similarly to what we had previously found in normal subjects. In addition, such activity significantly predicted the declarative indices of sequence learning and the scores in the Digit Span task. These findings suggest that some motor and non motor PD signs might have common neural bases, and thus, might have a similar response to the same behavioral therapy. In addition, these results might help in designing and testing the efficacy of novel rehabilitative approaches to improve specific aspects of motor performance in PD and other neurological disorders.     

Gender differences in EEG coherent activity before and after training navigation skills in virtual environments

Gender differences in electroencephalographic activity (EEG) changes during navigation task performance after training were assessed in young adults. Female and male subjects were matched on initial navigation performance. EEG recordings were obtained while subjects navigated in an immersive virtual environment without visual cues, before and after a navigational skills training (9 sessions). In spite of task performance was similar in both groups, females showed higher theta band coherent activity between frontal and parietal and frontal and central regions than males before training. Correlation in theta band between fronto-central, fronto-parietal, and centro-parietal regions was enhanced in the left hemisphere for females but in the right hemisphere for males after training. Females also demonstrated a decreased in correlation in theta band over the right hemisphere between centro-parietal regions, whereas males demonstrated a similar effect over the left hemisphere. Navigation training seems to promote fronto-central-parietal synchronization in both genders but in different hemisphere. These results are interpreted as reflecting verbal-analytical working memory functions in females and global-spatial working memory mode in males.     

Relationships between EEG θ and α spectral amplitudes and cognitive ability in preschool children

Relationships between individual θ and α EEG amplitudes and intelligence were studied in five- to six-year-old children. EEG was recorded in 83 children in three functional states: eyes closed, sustained visual attention, and attention to adult’s speech. Intelligence was assessed using Kaufman’s K-ABC test. Relationships between the EEG parameters and intelligence were studied using correlational and regression analyses. The results suggest that stable individual differences in local spectral amplitudes (SA) in the EEG θ and α bands predict reliably (when the covariant proportions of their variances is controlled) the level of simultaneous data processing in children under the conditions of sustained attention but not at rest. Thus, the individual features of the limbic thalamocortical and corticothalamic attentional systems are expected to influence cognitive abilities at the preschool age.     

Indices of Coherence of EEG Rhythms in the Course of Cognitive Activity as Markers of Creative Thinking: Gender Specificity

According to the results of psychological testing, persons aged 18 to 21 years were divided into four groups, women and men with low and high productivity of divergent (creative, nonroutine) thinking (n = = 18 to 23). Results of EEG recording (19 leads) were used for calculation of the coherence coefficients for oscillations of the delta, theta, alpha1, alpha2, alpha3, beta, and gamma frequencies in lead pairs and estimation of integral indices of coherence within the anterior and posterior cortical regions and between these zones (interaction coefficients, IC1-IC3, respectively). EEG was recorded in the resting state and in the course of resolving convergent- and divergent-type cognitive test tasks. It was found that, during the performance of tests of both types, men with a higher productivity of divergent thinking demonstrated significantly higher values of IC1 (that characterizes the coherence in associative linkages within the anterior cortex) for oscillations of all EEG frequency ranges compared with the respective estimates for “low-creative” men. Similar increments were typical of the IC2 values for low- and midfrequency EEG rhythms (delta, theta, and alpha). At the same time, values of the “interregional” IC3 for theta, beta, and gamma activity in “high-creativity” men were significantly lower. In women of both groups (low and high creativity), such specificity of the IC1-IC3 patterns was practically not observed, i.e., the respective aspect demonstrated clear gender specificity. The sex of the subjects and type of the performed cognitive tests could not be considered factors significantly affecting the calculated absolute IC values. The observed specificities of integral coherence indices are probably associated with different strategies of the performance of cognitive tasks in men and women. Our findings allow us to believe that the above interrelations between integrated coherence indices can be used as EEG markers of high productivity of divergent thinking in men. The more flexible strategies of thinking in women are probably related to more variable neurophysiological cortical mechanisms (compared with those in men), and this type of organization is not clearly reflected in the pattern of intracortical interactions estimated by coherence indices.     

Changes in the EEG power during tests for nonverbal (figurative) creativity

The EEG was recorded in 19 standard derivations according to the international 10–20 system in 30 subjects during a test for figurative creativity. To involve subjects in the creative process, they were presented with the following creative tasks: (Cr1) thinking up and drawing an original picture; (Cr2) drawing a face, a house, and a clown in an original manner; (C1) drawing a picture from memory; and (C2) drawing geometric figures without any system. All the tasks had to be performed using a given set of geometric figures (a circle, semicircle, triangle, and rectangle). Statistical analysis of the EEG spectral power for the frequency bands α₁, α₂, β₁, β₂, and γ showed that the creative task performance was characterized by an increase in the EEG power in the β₂ and γ bands and single differently directed power changes in the α₁, α₂, and β₁ bands. The findings were compared to previous results of EEG studies on creative activity.     

Aging-related changes of EEG synchronization during a visual working memory task

Differences of EEG synchronization between normal old and young people during a working memory (WM) task were investigated. The synchronization likelihood (SL) is a novel method to assessed synchronization in multivariate time series for non-stationary systems. To evaluate this method to study the mechanisms of WM, we calculated the SL values in brain electrical activity for both resting state and task state. EEG signals were recorded from 14 young adults and 12 old adults during two different states, respectively. SL was used to measure EEG synchronization between 19 electrodes in delta, theta, alpha1, alpha2 and beta frequency bands. Bad task performance and significantly decreased EEG synchronization were found in old group compared to young group in alpha1, alpha2 and beta frequency bands during the WM task. Moreover, significantly decreased EEG synchronization in beta band in the elder was also detected during the resting state. The findings suggested that reduced EEG synchronization may be one of causes for WM capacity decline along with healthy aging.     

Changes in the behavior and EEG of rats administered penicillin and a physiological solution into the amygdalar basal nuclei]

Three weeks after implantation of the electrodes for EEG recording, hyperactivation of the basal nucleus of rat's amygdala was produced by a local injection of penicillin (0.5 mcl, 1% solution). Saline injection of the same volume served as control. The hyperactivation of the amygdala resulted in a long-lasting (at least for 3 weeks) increase in the locomotor activity against the background and deficit in exploratory behavior and rise of the level of anxiety and fear. The behavioral changes were accompanied by a long-term disruption of the hippocampal theta rhythm, appearance and slowing of the immobility-related high-voltage spindles, and increase in the EEG dominant frequency in the state of emotional tension. Saline injection led to a short-time (up to 1 week) decrease in locomotor and exploratory activity and increase in anxiety. These phenomena were accompanied by a short-time disruption of the theta rhythm and appearance of the 10-13-Hz oscillations characteristic for the state of emotional tension.     

Comparative analysis of spatial EEG organization on models of non-verbal divergent and convergent thinking

Features of neurophysiological organization of two main thinking types playing different roles in creative processes, i.e., divergent and convergent were studied with participation of 30 right-handed male subjects at the age from 30 to 50 years. Two tests were presented: (1) creation of many visual images on the basis of two simple geometrical figures (the model of divergent thinking) and (2) classification of a figure element with one of the offered standard samples (convergent thinking). The number of created images or correctly classified elements for five minutes served a criterion of performance productivity. It was found that performance of the divergent test with high productivity (as compared to low productivity) was characterized by a greater increase in non-linear interactions between the cortical potentials, especially in the axis right frontal--left occipital areas. At the same time, under conditions of high productivity, the number of active narrow-frequency spectral-coherent EEG bands increased. The data confirm the notion of neurophysiological organization of creative processes, according to which creative processes require the intensification of retrieval operations (both conscious and unconscious), based on extensive interhemispheric interaction and involvement of a system of EEG coherent structures oscillating with different frequencies.     

Changes in EEG coherence during tests for nonverbal (Figurative) creativity

Brain neurodynamics was studied by the EEG method during the performance of a task for figurative (or imaginative) creativity. The EEG was recorded in 19 standard derivations according to the international 10–20 system in 30 subjects. The following creative tasks were presented to subjects to involve them in the creative process: (Crl) thinking up and drawing an original picture; (Cr2) drawing a face, a house, and a clown in an original manner; (C1) drawing a picture from memory; and (C2) drawing geometric figures without any system. All the tasks had to be performed using a given set of geometric figures (a circle, semicircle, triangle, and rectangle). Statistical analysis of the EEG coherence function in these states for the frequency bands Δ, θ, α₁, α₂, β₁, β₂, and γ showed that the performance of creative and control tasks was associated with significant coherence changes in all the EEG frequency bands. As compared to the control tasks, performance of creative tasks caused an increase in the coherence of the α₁-and α₂ bands, more pronounced when creative tasks were compared with the second control task. In addition, the performance of the creative tasks (as compared to the control tasks) was accompanied by a decrease in the interhemispheric coherence of high-frequency rhythms (β₂ and γ) and an increase in the intrahemispheric coherence of these rhythms. The findings are compared to the results of previous EEG studies on creative activity.