Nonlinear EEG parameters of emotional perception in patients with moderate traumatic brain injury, coma, stroke and schizophrenia

• Main Authors: Galina V. Portnova, Michael S. Atanov
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: AIMS Press 2018-11-01
• Series: AIMS Neuroscience
• Subjects: EEG| fractal dimension| EEG envelope| Hjorth| schizophrenia| stroke| coma| traumatic brain injury
• Online Access: http://www.aimspress.com/article/10.3934/Neuroscience.2018.4.221/fulltext.html

<em>Objective: </em>The aim of this study was to determine the EEG changes induced by emotional non-verbal sounds using nonlinear signals’ features and also to examine the subjective emotional response in patients with different neurological and psychiatric disorders. <em>Methods:</em> 141 subjects participated in our study: patients after moderate TBI, patients in acute coma, patients after stroke, patients with schizophrenia and controls. 7 types of emotionally charged stimuli were presented. Non-comatose participants were asked to assess the levels of experienced emotions. We analyzed fractal dimension, signal’s envelope parameters and Hjorth mobility and complexity. <em>Results:</em> The Hjorth parameters were negatively correlated with irritation. The fractal dimension was positively correlated with arousal and empathy levels. The only presentation of laughter to post-stroke patients induced the reaction similar to the control group. <em>Conclusions:</em> The results showed that the investigated nonlinear features of resting state EEG are quite group-specific and also specific to the emotional state. <em>Significance:</em> The investigated features could serve to diagnose emotional impairments.