Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Aug 1:4:93-97.
doi: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2014.12.017. Epub 2015 Jan 2.

Frontal EEG Asymmetry as a Promising Marker of Depression Vulnerability: Summary and Methodological Considerations

John J B Allen  1 , Samantha J Reznik  1
Affiliations

Frontal EEG Asymmetry as a Promising Marker of Depression Vulnerability: Summary and Methodological Considerations

John J B Allen et al. Curr Opin Psychol. .

Abstract

Frontal EEG asymmetry is a promising neurophysiological marker of depression risk. It predicts emotional response and negative affect hours to years later. Yet, inconsistencies in the literature may be due to differing methodological approaches between research groups. Within the past two years, a number of studies have shown this line of research may be strengthened by augmenting resting assessments with emotionally evocative tasks, utilizing optimal recording montages, and taking an integrative neuroscience approach that links frontal asymmetry to other indices of neural function. This review will focus on recent work in frontal asymmetry and depression with a particular focus on promising future directions and methodological considerations that may increase consistency between research groups.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Towers DN, Allen JJB. A better estimate of the internal consistency reliability of frontal EEG asymmetry scores. Psychophysiology. 2009;46:132–142. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Sutton SK, Davidson RJ, Science SP, May N. Prefrontal brain asymmetry: A biological substrate of the behavioral approach and inhibition systems. Psychol Sci. 2014;8:204–210.
    1. Schaffer C, Davidson R, Saron C. Frontal and parietal electroencephalogram asymmetry in depressed and nondepressed subject. Biol Psychiatry. 1983;18:753–762. - PubMed
    1. Gotlib IH, Ranganath C, Rosenfeld P. Frontal EEG alpha asymmetry, depression, and cognitive functioning. Cogn Emot. 1998;12:449–478.
    1. Henriques JB, Davidson RJ. Left frontal hypoactivation in depression. J Abnorm Psychol. 1991;100:535–545. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources