Quantifying Sharpness and Nonlinearity in Neonatal Seizure Dynamics

Chien-Hung Yeh; Chuting Zhang; Wenbin Shi; Boyi Zhang; Jianping An

doi:10.34133/cbsystems.0076

Quantifying Sharpness and Nonlinearity in Neonatal Seizure Dynamics

Cyborg Bionic Syst. 2024 Jan 25:5:0076. doi: 10.34133/cbsystems.0076. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Chien-Hung Yeh^{1

2}, Chuting Zhang¹, Wenbin Shi^{1

2}, Boyi Zhang³, Jianping An^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ School of Information and Electronics, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China.
² Key Laboratory of Brain Health Intelligent Evaluation and Intervention (Beijing Institute of Technology), Ministry of Education, Beijing, China.
³ School of Engineering, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
⁴ School of Cyberspace Science and Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China.

Abstract

The integration of multiple electrophysiological biomarkers is crucial for monitoring neonatal seizure dynamics. The present study aimed to characterize the temporal dynamics of neonatal seizures by analyzing intrinsic waveforms of epileptic electroencephalogram (EEG) signals. We proposed a complementary set of methods considering envelope power, focal sharpness changes, and nonlinear patterns of EEG signals of 79 neonates with seizures. Features derived from EEG signals were used as input to the machine learning classifier. All three characteristics were significantly elevated during seizure events, as agreed upon by all viewers (P < 0.0001). Envelope power was elevated in the entire seizure period, and the degree of nonlinearity rose at the termination of a seizure event. Epileptic sharpness effectively characterizes an entire seizure event, complementing the role of envelope power in identifying its onset. However, the degree of nonlinearity showed superior discriminability for the termination of a seizure event. The proposed computational methods for intrinsic sharp or nonlinear EEG patterns evolving during neonatal seizure could share some features with envelope power. Current findings may be helpful in developing strategies to improve neonatal seizure monitoring.