Cited by 866Neural dynamics and brain functionEEG and Brain-Computer InterfacesFunctional Brain Connectivity Studies

EEG frequency bands in psychiatric disorders: a review of resting state studies

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Newson, Jennifer J., Thiagarajan, Tara C.·2019·Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Abstract

A significant proportion of the electroencephalography (EEG) literature focuses on differences in historically pre-defined frequency bands in the power spectrum that are typically referred to as alpha, beta, gamma, theta and delta waves. Here, we review 184 EEG studies that report differences in frequency bands in the resting state condition (eyes open and closed) across a spectrum of psychiatric disorders including depression, attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, addiction, bipolar disorder, anxiety, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and schizophrenia to determine patterns across disorders. Aggregating across all reported results we demonstrate that characteristic patterns of power change within specific frequency bands are not necessarily unique to any one disorder but show substantial overlap across disorders as well as variability within disorders. In particular, we show that the most dominant pattern of change, across several disorder types including ADHD, schizophrenia and OCD, is power increases across lower frequencies (delta and theta) and decreases across higher frequencies (alpha, beta and gamma). However, a considerable number of disorders, such as PTSD, addiction and autism show no dominant trend for spectral change in any direction. We report consistency and validation scores across the disorders and conditions showing that the dominant result across all disorders is typically only 2.2 times as likely to occur in the literature as alternate results, and typically with less than 250 study participants when summed across all studies reporting this result. Furthermore, the magnitudes of the results were infrequently reported and were typically small at between 20% and 30% and correlated weakly with symptom severity scores. Finally, we discuss the many methodological challenges and limitations relating to such frequency band analysis across the literature. These results caution any interpretation of results from studies that consider only one disorder in isolation, and for the overall potential of this approach for delivering valuable insights in the field of mental health.

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Crossref · 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00521

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  • A recent review by Newson and Thiagarajan (2018) revealed that atypical EEG profiles, such as increased power at lower frequencies and decreased power at higher frequencies, seem to be shared by individuals with different conditions (e.g., ADHD, OCD and schizophrenia) and not specific to ADHD.

    “A recent review of the literature by Newson and Thiagarajan (2018) revealed that atypical EEG profiles, such as increased power at lower frequencies and decreased power at higher frequencies, seem to be shared by individuals with different conditions (e.g., ADHD, OCD and schizophrenia) and not specific to ADHD.”

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Authors
Newson, J. J., & Thiagarajan, T. C.
Affiliations
Sapien Labs (US)
Corresponding author
Thiagarajan, Tara C.
Venue
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
Published
2019-01-09
Volume
12
Pages
521-521
ISSN
1662-5161 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2908954394
Cited by
863
References
267
Citations by year
2026: 127 · 2025: 134 · 2024: 158 · 2023: 147 · 2022: 111 · 2021: 96 · 2020: 69 · 2019: 19 · 2017: 1
FWCI
9.36
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural dynamics and brain function
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
Keywords
EEG frequency bands, resting-state EEG, mental illness, EEG spectral power, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, addiction, bipolar disorder, anxiety, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, symptom severity

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