Authors (including presenting author) :
CHAN YCC(1), MAK HKC(2), YUEN MHM(2), CHAN KLM(1), YU KPJ(1), YEUNG KYW(1), LUI NFJ(3)
Affiliation :
(1)Community Rehabilitation Service Support Centre, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, (2)Department of Neurosurgery, Queen Elizabeth Hospital, (3)Occupational Therapy Department, Queen Elizabeth Hospital
Introduction :
The application of quantitative EEG (QEEG) has been used in many conditions which are conventionally subjective and hard to make a diagnosis. Post-concussion syndrome (PCS) is one of these conditions. PCS is common after mild traumatic brain injury which lasts for months or even years. Patients with PCS are traditionally evaluated by computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, however the findings can be completely normal.
Objectives :
This preliminary study aims to explore if the qEEG parameters could be pragmatically used to differentiate patients with PCS from healthy controls for further study.
Methodology :
19-channel EEG by using standard 10-20 international electrode placement system were acquired at 4 conditions (3-minute eyes-close, 3-minute eyes-open, during meditation task and during a response reaction task). 6 patients with PCS and 6 age-matched healthy control subjects were recruited. All EEG data were recorded under 250 Hz sampling rate, 2250mV resolution with 0.1 to 100 Hz bandpass filter and 48 – 52 Hz notch filter, and were analyzed using EEGLAB. Visual inspection and Independent Component Analysis application was done for artefacts removal. The qEEG metrics including absolute power and relative power in delta (0.5 – 4Hz), theta(4-8Hz), alpha(8-12Hz), beta (12-32Hz), and pairwise derived Brain Symmetry Index (pdBSI) were computed.
Result & Outcome :
6 PCS subjects and 6 healthy control volunteers had been done for this result analysis. Each group of subjects contained 4 females and 2 males with age range from 31 to 57 years old for PCS group; and 32 to 58 years old for healthy control group. The years of education from PCS group was around 7 to 11 years while that of the healthy control group was around 11 to 22 years. After running T-test statistics and qEEG analysis, a significantly higher beta absolute power in patient with PCS (mean = 41.14uV2) was found when compared with healthy controls (mean = 21.16uV2) across the eyes-closed condition (t (10) = 2.340, p = 0.041). Significant difference in the qEEG parameter between PCS and healthy controls is found in this preliminary study. Further study is recommended for feature selection and hence the qEEG pattern could be identified for aiding proper diagnosis and timely treatment.
