Skip to main content

ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Neurosci.
Sec. Translational Neuroscience
Volume 18 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fnins.2024.1429019
This article is part of the Research Topic Mechanism of Neural Oscillations and Their Relationship with Multiple Cognitive Functions and Mental Disorders View all 6 articles

Alpha Oscillation Mediates the Interaction between Suicide Risk and Symptom Severity in Major Depressive Disorder

Provisionally accepted
Haoran Zhang Haoran Zhang 1Xinyu Liu Xinyu Liu 1Ziyao Su Ziyao Su 1,2Yingtan Wang Yingtan Wang 1Bingxu Chen Bingxu Chen 3Zhizhen Zhang Zhizhen Zhang 4Bin Wang Bin Wang 1Jia Zhou Jia Zhou 1Ling Zhang Ling Zhang 1*Xixi Zhao Xixi Zhao 1*
  • 1 National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
  • 2 Xinjiang Medical University, Ürümqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Region, China
  • 3 Faculty of Information Technology, Beijing University of Technology, Beijing, China
  • 4 School of Mathematical Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    The aim of our study was to explore the relationship between changes in neural oscillatory power in the EEG, the severity of depressive-anxiety symptoms, and the risk of suicide in MDD.Methods: 350 MDD patients' demographic and clinical data were collected, and their depressive and anxious symptoms were evaluated using HDRS-17 and HAMA-14, along with a suicide risk assessment using the Nurses' Global Assessment of Suicide Risk (NGASR). EEG data were captured, processed, and analyzed to study brain activity patterns related to MDD. The participants were divided based on suicide risk levels, and statistical analyses, including chi-square, t-tests, Pearson's correlations were used to explore the associations between brain activity, symptom severity, and suicide risk. Closely related variables were identified and ultimately the optimal model was screened using stepwise regression analysis with a forward strategy, and mediation effects were further used to determine the possible interactions between the variables in the regression model.The regression model showed a significant effect of HDRS-17 and alpha power of Medial Occipital Cortex (MOC) on suicide risk, with elevated HDRS-17 increasing suicide risk and elevated alpha power decreasing suicide risk. Mediation effect analyses showed that MOC alpha power partially mediated the effect of depression level on suicide risk, and that an increase in depression severity may lead to a decrease in MOC alpha power, while a decrease in MOC alpha power may lead to an increase in suicide risk.The severity of depression directly increases suicide risk, whereas higher alpha power in the MOC serves as a protective factor, reducing this risk. Notably, MOC alpha power not only directly impacts suicide risk but also mediates the effects of both depression severity and anxiety levels on this risk.The relatively small sample size of this study may limit the representativeness of the overall MDD patient population and the detailed analysis of different subgroups. This study did not delve into the relationship between the severity of cognitive symptoms in MDD patients and suicide risk.

    Keywords: Major Depressive Disorder, Electroencephalography, neural oscillation, suicide risk, intermediary effect

    Received: 07 May 2024; Accepted: 17 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Zhang, Liu, Su, Wang, Chen, Zhang, Wang, Zhou, Zhang and Zhao. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Ling Zhang, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
    Xixi Zhao, National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Beijing Anding Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.