Is resting state frontal alpha connectivity asymmetry a useful index to assess depressive symptoms? A preliminary investigation in a sample of university students

•A new index, the frontal alpha connectivity asymmetry index (FACA-I) is proposed.•FACA-I measures asymmetry in the connectivity within frontal areas.•FACA-I scores were negatively associated with depressive symptoms (Ds).•FACA-I scores were lower in individuals with significant level of Ds.•FACA-I...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of affective disorders Vol. 257; pp. 152 - 159
Main Authors:	Imperatori, Claudio, Farina, Benedetto, Valenti, Enrico Maria, Di Poce, Alessia, D'Ari, Sofia, De Rossi, Elena, Murgia, Cristina, Carbone, Giuseppe Alessio, Massullo, Chiara, Della Marca, Giacomo
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Netherlands Elsevier B.V 01-10-2019
Subjects:	Anxiety symptoms Depressive symptoms eLORETA Frontal alpha asymmetry Frontal alpha connectivity asymmetry Depressive symptoms Anxiety symptoms Frontal alpha connectivity asymmetry eLORETA Frontal alpha asymmetry
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Summary:	•A new index, the frontal alpha connectivity asymmetry index (FACA-I) is proposed.•FACA-I measures asymmetry in the connectivity within frontal areas.•FACA-I scores were negatively associated with depressive symptoms (Ds).•FACA-I scores were lower in individuals with significant level of Ds.•FACA-I may catch more accurately several aspects of Ds. Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) has been widely investigated in depressive disorders (DDs) with contradictory and not conclusive results. The main aim of the current study was to explore the association between a new neurophysiological index, the so-called frontal alpha connectivity asymmetry index (FACA-I), and depressive symptoms. One hundred and thirteen participants (45 men and 68 women, mean age: 22.83 ± 2.26 years) were enrolled. Electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings were performed during 5 min of resting state (RS). FACA-I was computed by subtracting connectivity at left frontal regions from right frontal regions and dividing by their sum. RS FAA were also computed and compared to the FACA-I in all analyses. After controlling for the presence of potential confounding variables (i.e., sex, age and anxiety symptoms), only FACA-I scores between medial prefrontal cortex and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex were negatively associated with both somatic and cognitive/affective depressive symptoms and were lower in individuals with significant level of depressive symptoms. We focused on a sample of university students with no formal diagnosis of depression and we did not assess FAA and FACA-I during cognitive and/or emotional tasks, which make our interpretation specific to the RS condition. Taken together our data suggest that alpha connectivity asymmetry between medial prefrontal cortex and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex may be a useful neurophysiological index in the assessment of depressive symptoms.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Undefined-1 ObjectType-Feature-3 content type line 23
ISSN:	0165-0327 1573-2517
DOI:	10.1016/j.jad.2019.07.034