Abnormal long-range temporal correlation (LRTC) in EEG oscillation has been observed in several brain pathologies and mental disorders. This study examined the relationship between the LRTC of broadband EEG oscillation and depression following cerebral infarction with different hemispheric lesions to provide a novel insight into such depressive disorders. Resting EEGs of 16 channels in 18 depressed (9 left and 9 right lesions) and 21 non-depressed (11 left and 10 right lesions) subjects following cerebral infarction and 19 healthy control subjects were analysed by means of detrended fluctuation analysis, a quantitative measurement of LRTC. The difference among groups and the correlation between the severity of depression and LRTC in EEG oscillation were investigated by statistical analysis. The results showed that LRTC of broadband EEG oscillations in depressive subjects was still preserved but attenuated in right hemispheric lesion subjects especially in left pre-frontal and right inferior frontal and posterior temporal regions. Moreover, an association between the severity of psychiatric symptoms and the attenuation of the LRTC was found in frontal, central and temporal regions for stroke subjects with right lesions. A high discriminating ability of the LRTC in the frontal and central regions to distinguish depressive from non-depressive subjects suggested potential feasibility for LRTC as an assessment indicator for depression following right hemispheric cerebral infarction. Different performance of temporal correlation in depressed subjects following the two hemispheric lesions implied complex association between depression and stroke lesion location.
Keywords: Depression; Detrended fluctuation analysis (DFA); EEG oscillation; Hemispheric cerebral infarction; Long-range temporal correlation (LRTC).