Title:EEG Correlates of Cognitive Functions and Neuropsychiatric Disorders: A Review of Oscillatory Activity and Neural Synchrony Abnormalities
Volume: 16
Issue: 4
Author(s): Meysam Amidfar*Yong-Ku Kim
Affiliation:
- Department of Neuroscience, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran,Iran
Keywords:
Brain rhythms, EEG oscillations, neuropsychiatric diseases, cognitive functions, neural synchrony, EEG coherence.
Abstract:
Background: A large body of evidence suggested that disruption of neural rhythms and
synchronization of brain oscillations are correlated with a variety of cognitive and perceptual processes.
Cognitive deficits are common features of psychiatric disorders that complicate treatment of
the motivational, affective and emotional symptoms.
Objective: Electrophysiological correlates of cognitive functions will contribute to understanding of
neural circuits controlling cognition, the causes of their perturbation in psychiatric disorders and
developing novel targets for the treatment of cognitive impairments.
Methods: This review includes a description of brain oscillations in Alzheimer’s disease, bipolar
disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, major depression, obsessive compulsive disorders,
anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and autism.
Results: The review clearly shows that the reviewed neuropsychiatric diseases are associated with
fundamental changes in both spectral power and coherence of EEG oscillations.
Conclusion: In this article, we examined the nature of brain oscillations, the association of brain
rhythms with cognitive functions and the relationship between EEG oscillations and neuropsychiatric
diseases. Accordingly, EEG oscillations can most likely be used as biomarkers in psychiatric
disorders.