Aggensteiner Pascal-M, Holz Nathalie E, Kaiser Anna, Pernt Pascal M, Böttinger Boris, Baumeister Sarah, Werhahn Julia, Walitza Susanne, Banaschewski Tobias, Brandeis Daniel
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany; Donders Center for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands; Department for Cognitive Neuroscience, Radboud University Medical Center Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2022 May;175:24-31. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.12.010. Epub 2022 Feb 19.
Psychophysiological measures of arousal are often considered as potential biomarkers for disruptive behavior disorder (DBD). Nevertheless, the evidence is mixed, possibly reflecting the heterogeneity of DBD and different subtypes of aggression. Additionally, arousal measures of the central nervous system (e.g. electroencephalogram: EEG) are underrepresented compared to peripheral ones (heart rate: HR; skin conductance: SC).
We recorded HR, SC, and EEG (frequency band power at three electrodes Fz, Cz, Pz) in 49 participants with DBD, and 15 typically developing peers during two resting state and an emotional task condition. Group differences were assessed by a repeated measure ANOVA and regression analyses were applied to evaluate subtype-specific patterns.
Our results showed higher mean HR activity in DBD participants, which was however driven by medicated participants and no significant group differences were found for SC. Interestingly, a significant group x frequency band interaction emerged for the EEG. DBD youth showed lower alpha activity. Regression analyses showed that higher theta and lower alpha band activity were related to more general aggression scores and higher delta and lower beta activity predicted proactive aggression.
The lack of robust and significant differences for peripheral measurements (HR and SC) fits with previous mixed findings for externalizing disorders. Our results suggest that EEG measurements might be more sensitive to detect group differences and higher delta and lower beta activity might represent an index of a proactive subtype of aggression.
唤醒的心理生理测量通常被视为破坏性行为障碍（DBD）的潜在生物标志物。然而，证据并不一致，这可能反映了DBD的异质性和攻击行为的不同亚型。此外，与外周测量指标（心率：HR；皮肤电导率：SC）相比，中枢神经系统的唤醒测量指标（如脑电图：EEG）的研究较少。
我们记录了49名患有DBD的参与者以及15名发育正常的同龄人在两种静息状态和一种情绪任务状态下的HR、SC和EEG（三个电极Fz、Cz、Pz处的频段功率）。通过重复测量方差分析评估组间差异，并应用回归分析来评估亚型特异性模式。
我们的结果显示，DBD参与者的平均HR活动较高，但这是由服用药物的参与者导致的，SC未发现显著的组间差异。有趣的是，EEG出现了显著的组×频段交互作用。DBD青少年的α活动较低。回归分析表明，较高的θ活动和较低的α频段活动与更普遍的攻击分数相关，较高的δ活动和较低的β活动预测了主动性攻击。
外周测量指标（HR和SC）缺乏强有力的显著差异，这与先前关于外化障碍的混合研究结果一致。我们的结果表明，EEG测量可能对检测组间差异更敏感，较高的δ活动和较低的β活动可能代表主动性攻击亚型的一个指标。
