EEG Network Analysis of Depressive Emotion Interference Spatial Cognition Based on a Simulated Robotic Arm Docking Task

Abstract

Depressive emotion (DE) refers to clinically relevant depressive symptoms without meeting the diagnostic criteria for depression. Studies have demonstrated that DE can cause spatial cognition impairment. However, the brain network mechanisms underlying DE interference spatial cognition remain unclear. This study aimed to reveal the differences in brain network connections between DE and healthy control (HC) groups during resting state and a spatial cognition task. The longer operation time of the DE group during spatial cognition task indicated DE interference spatial cognition. In the resting state stage, the DE group had weaker network connections in theta and alpha bands than the HC group had. Specifically, the electrodes in parietal regions were hubs of the differential networks, which are related to spatial attention. Moreover, in docking task stages, the left frontoparietal network connections in delta, beta, and gamma bands were stronger in the DE group than those of the HC group. The enhanced left frontoparietal connections in the DE group may be related to brain resource reorganization to compensate for spatial cognition decline and ensure the completion of spatial cognition tasks. Thus, these findings might provide new insights into the neural mechanisms of depressive emotion interference spatial cognition.

Keywords: EEG; brain network; depressive emotion; spatial cognition.

Figure 1

The experimental paradigm.

Figure 2

The network connections with significant differences between the DE and HC groups in the RS, LM, and FO stages. The red lines represent the significantly stronger network connections in the DE group compared to the HC group, and the blue lines represent the significantly stronger connections in the HC group compared to the DE group, p < 0.05. The (A–E) correspond to delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma bands, respectively.

Figure 3

The distribution of scalp positions where the CC has significant differences between the DE and HC groups in the RS, LM, and FO stages (p < 0.05). The yellow electrodes indicate that the DE group has larger CC values compared to the HC group, while the blue ones show that the HC group has larger CC values. The (A–E) correspond to delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma bands, respectively.

Figure 4

Segmentation of 10 sub-brain regions.