Quantitative EEG in Children and Adults With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract

In recent decades, resting state electroencephalographic (EEG) measures have been widely used to document underlying neurophysiological dysfunction in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Although most EEG studies focus on children, there is a growing interest in adults with ADHD too. The aim of this study was to objectively assess and compare the absolute and relative EEG power as well as the theta/beta ratio in children and adults with ADHD. The evaluated sample comprised 30 male children and 30 male adults with ADHD diagnosed according to DSM-IV criteria. They were compared with 30 boys and 30 male adults matched by age. The mean age (±SD) of the children's group was 9 (±2.44) years and the adult group 35.8 (±8.65) years. EEG was recorded during an eyes-open condition. Spectral analysis of absolute (μV) and relative power (%) was carried out for 4 frequency bands: delta (2-4 Hz), theta (4-8 Hz), alpha (8-13 Hz), and beta (13-21 Hz). The findings obtained for ADHD children are increased absolute power of slow waves (theta and delta), whereas adults exhibited no differences compared with normal subjects. For the relative power spectra there were no differences between the ADHD and control groups. Across groups, the children showed greater relative power than the adults in the delta and theta bands, but for the higher frequency bands (alpha and beta) the adults showed more relative power than children. Only ADHD children showed greater theta/beta ratio compared to the normal group. Classification analysis showed that ADHD children could be differentiated from the control group by the absolute theta values and theta/beta ratio at Cz, but this was not the case with ADHD adults. The question that should be further explored is if these differences are mainly due to maturation processes or if there is a core difference in cortical arousal between ADHD children and adults.

Immature sleep pattern in newborn rats when dams encountered sleep restriction during pregnancy

“…The comparison between the pups born to control and sleep restricted dams is shown in symbol -for decrease. The level of significance is −p < 0.01. comparable to the increased delta power in the children with attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Markovska-Simoska and Pop-Jordanova, 2017). An increased delta percentage in sleep is also reported in children with attention deficit disorder (Ramos Platon et al, 1990) which is akin to resting state high delta power in the EEG reported in several studies in the ADHD children (Matsuura et al, 1993;Clarke et al, 1998;Barry et al, 2003).…”

“…The reduced delta power and higher percentage of theta, alpha and beta power in the pups of sleep restricted dams on D15 bear close analogy to altered EEG power with significantly reduced percentage of delta power in preterm fetal growth restricted human infants, indicative of delayed brain maturation (Cohen et al, 2018). Sudden reversal in delta power on D20 in the sleep restricted group, on the contrary, can be described as disruption in neuro‐maturational control which is comparable to the increased delta power in the children with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Markovska‐Simoska and Pop‐Jordanova, 2017). An increased delta percentage in sleep is also reported in children with attention deficit disorder (Ramos Platon et al, 1990) which is akin to resting state high delta power in the EEG reported in several studies in the ADHD children (Matsuura et al, 1993; Clarke et al, 1998; Barry et al, 2003).…”

An endophenotype approach to the genetics of alcohol dependence: a genome wide association study of fast beta EEG in families of African ancestry

“…Begleiter and Porjesz 4 have suggested that this may be an electrophysiological index of an imbalance in the excitation–inhibition homeostasis in the cortex, which underlies a predisposition to develop AUD and related disorders. 4,14,20 Further supporting this hypothesis is the association of beta EEG and other disorders characterized by behavioral disinhibition: externalizing behavior in children 19 and adolescents, 7 ADHD, 10,21,22 internet addiction, 8,9 and binge drinking in emerging adults. 23 …”

Initial Study on Cancer-Related Cognitive Dysfunction With the Implementation of QEEG

“…A higher Beta frequency amplitude, on the other hand, may indicate increased anxiety, as well as problems with concentration and sleep (Britton et al, 2016;Markovska-Simoska & Pop-Jordanova, 2017).…”