Lee Jaewon, Choi Sam-Wook, Kim Kyoung Min, Lee Young Sik, Kim Jun Won
Department of Psychiatry, Easybrain Center, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Department of Psychiatry, True Mind Mental Health Clinic, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
Neuropsychiatr Dis Treat. 2019 Jun 21;15:1629-1637. doi: 10.2147/NDT.S210990. eCollection 2019.
Gambling disorder is a psychiatric condition characterized by persistent and recurrent maladaptive gambling. In the present study, we evaluated the characteristics of resting-state electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings in patients with gambling disorder. In addition, we explored the association between the EEG characteristics of the patients and the stages of change in a transtheoretical model.
All participants were men who visited a gambling disorder clinic in Seoul, Korea. At the assessment, questionnaires, including the Readiness to Change Questionnaire (RCQ), were administered and resting-state EEGs were carried out. Participants were grouped based on Ward's method for cluster analysis. Independent sample -tests were used to evaluate group differences. To assess the relationship between the clinical data and the EEG recordings, we used Pearson's partial correlation analysis.
Overall, 63 male participants were enrolled. Cluster analysis of the alpha activity revealed two clusters. No significant differences were observed in the demographic or clinical data between the two groups except for the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). We found that the precontemplation score of the RCQ was positively correlated with the z-score of the relative alpha power in almost all cortical regions.
This study suggests that EEG parameters, particularly alpha activity, could inform us about the subtypes or stages of change in gambling disorder. Alpha power is the predominant EEG rhythm in a relaxed, alert person; thus, alpha power serves as an index of relaxation. We expect that the level of alpha activity could be utilized as an additional parameter to help clinicians assess and treat patients with gambling disorder.
赌博障碍是一种以持续且反复出现的适应不良赌博行为为特征的精神疾病。在本研究中，我们评估了赌博障碍患者静息态脑电图（EEG）记录的特征。此外，我们还探讨了患者的脑电图特征与跨理论模型中改变阶段之间的关联。
所有参与者均为访问韩国首尔一家赌博障碍诊所的男性。在评估时，发放了包括改变准备度问卷（RCQ）在内的问卷，并进行了静息态脑电图检查。参与者根据沃德聚类分析法进行分组。采用独立样本t检验评估组间差异。为了评估临床数据与脑电图记录之间的关系，我们使用了皮尔逊偏相关分析。
总体而言，共招募了63名男性参与者。对阿尔法活动的聚类分析显示有两个聚类。除贝克抑郁量表（BDI）外，两组在人口统计学或临床数据方面未观察到显著差异。我们发现，RCQ的未考虑改变阶段得分与几乎所有皮质区域相对阿尔法功率的z分数呈正相关。
本研究表明，脑电图参数，尤其是阿尔法活动，可以为我们提供有关赌博障碍的亚型或改变阶段的信息。阿尔法功率是放松、警觉状态下的主要脑电图节律；因此，阿尔法功率可作为放松程度的指标。我们期望阿尔法活动水平能够作为一个额外参数，帮助临床医生评估和治疗赌博障碍患者。
