The phase amplitude coupling to assess brain network system integration

Abstract

Brain Dynamics seems to be the most actual approach to the brain responses to external stimuli. Even if Event Related Potentials can be detected, the EEG band power perturbation and the Phase Amplitude Coupling (PAC) seems to be the most appropriate way to assess such a brain dynamics. In this study 13 borderline subject with a child maltreatment history were studied in respect to 11 controls without any psychopathologic history. Both group were exposed to the Odd Ball Paradigm and related EEG activities were recorded from 256 electrodes on the scalp. The maltreated people resulted in higher levels of dystimia and worst behavioral performances as well as with a higher emotional dysregulation. Electro-physiological correlates were assessed with a different brain dynamics detected in maltreated group when target stimuli were presented. The results confirm the importance of the PAC and of the assessment of Cross Frequency Modulation (CfM). The results support the role of such a method for clinical diagnostics and suggest an explanation for the use of brain entrainment effect for therapeutic interventions. More over the presence of these oscillatory phenomena and this kind of brain dynamics suggest the compatibility of such results with scale free structures in the brain network architectures, where a small number of hubs, with high connection degrees, are embedded within a large assembly of neurons with low connection degrees.