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Altered EEG Microstates Dynamics in Individuals with Subthreshold Depression When Generating Negative Future Events

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Abstract

Negative bias in prospection may play a crucial role in driving and maintaining depression. Recent research suggests abnormal activation and functional connectivity in regions of the default mode network (DMN) during future event generation in depressed individuals. However, the neural dynamics during prospection in these individuals remain unknown. To capture network dynamics at high temporal resolution, we employed electroencephalogram (EEG) microstate analysis. We examined microstate properties during both positive and negative prospection in 35 individuals with subthreshold depression (SD) and 35 controls. We identified similar sets of four canonical microstates (A–D) across groups and conditions. Source analysis indicated that each microstate map partially overlapped with a subsystem of the DMN (A: verbal; B: visual-spatial; C: self-referential; and D: modulation). Notably, alterations in EEG microstates were primarily observed in negative prospection of individuals with SD. Specifically, when generating negative future events, the coverage, occurrence, and duration of microstate A increased, while the coverage and duration of microstates B and D decreased in the SD group compared to controls. Furthermore, we observed altered transitions, particularly involving microstate C, during negative prospection in the SD group. These altered dynamics suggest dysconnectivity between subsystems of the DMN during negative prospection in individuals with SD. In conclusion, we provide novel insights into the neural mechanisms of negative bias in depression. These alterations could serve as specific markers for depression and potential targets for future interventions.

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Data Availability

The datasets are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request, after consideration by the local ethics committee.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the National Natural Science Foundation of China (82101604).

Funding

This study was funded by National Natural Science Foundation of China (82101604).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Zhuoya Yang and Lei Xia have contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Basic Psychology, School of Medical Psychology, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China

    Zhuoya Yang

  2. Experimental Research Center for Medical and Psychological Science, School of Medical Psychology, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China

    Lei Xia

  3. Department of Psychiatry, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, 400016, China

    Yixiao Fu

  4. Department of Developmental Psychology for Armyman, School of Medical Psychology, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China

    Yingcan Zheng

  5. Department of Military Psychology, School of Medical Psychology, Army Medical University, Chongqing, 400038, China

    Mengxue Zhao

  6. School of Medical Psychology, Army Medical University, 30 Gaotanyan Street, Chongqing, 400038, China

    Zhuoya Yang, Lei Xia, Yingcan Zheng, Mengxue Zhao & Zhengzhi Feng

  7. Institute of Rocket Force Medicine, State Key Laboratory of Trauma, Burns and Combined Injury, Army Medical University, 30 Gaotanyan Street, Chongqing, 400038, China

    Chunmeng Shi

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Contributions

ZY, ZF and CS designed the study. LX and YF administrated the project. ZY and LX analysed and interpreted the data. ZY drafted the manuscript. ZF, CS, YF, YZ and MZ critically revised the manuscript. All authors have read and agreed to publish the final version of the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Zhengzhi Feng or Chunmeng Shi.

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Handling Editor: Micah Murray.

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Supplementary Information

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Supplementary material 1 (DOCX 13.9 kb)

Appendix

Appendix

The illustration of three cases with the maximum, typical, and lowest amount of removed ICA components.

See Fig. 5, 6, 7.

Fig. 5
figure 5

The maximum amount of ICA components removed

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Fig. 6
figure 6

A typical amount of ICA components removed

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Fig. 7
figure 7

The lowest amount of ICA components removed

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Yang, Z., Xia, L., Fu, Y. et al. Altered EEG Microstates Dynamics in Individuals with Subthreshold Depression When Generating Negative Future Events. Brain Topogr 37, 52–62 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-023-01011-5

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