Walter Nike, Meinersen-Schmidt Nicole, Kulla Patricia, Loew Thomas, Kruse Joachim, Hinterberger Thilo
Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University Hospital Regensburg, 93059 Regensburg, Germany.
Department for Clinical Psychology and Trauma Therapy, University of the Bundeswehr Munich, 85579 Neubiberg, Germany.
Entropy (Basel). 2023 Jun 2;25(6):890. doi: 10.3390/e25060890.
This study aimed at answering the following research questions: (1) Does the self-reported level of sensory-processing sensitivity (SPS) correlate with complexity, or criticality features of the electroencephalogram (EEG)? (2) Are there significant EEG differences comparing individuals with high and low levels of SPS?
One hundred fifteen participants were measured with 64-channel EEG during a task-free resting state. The data were analyzed using criticality theory tools (detrended fluctuation analysis, neuronal avalanche analysis) and complexity measures (sample entropy, Higuchi's fractal dimension). Correlations with the 'Highly Sensitive Person Scale' (HSPS-G) scores were determined. Then, the cohort's lowest and the highest 30% were contrasted as opposites. EEG features were compared between the two groups by applying a Wilcoxon signed-rank test.
During resting with eyes open, HSPS-G scores correlated significantly positively with the sample entropy and Higuchi's fractal dimension ( ρ = 0.22, < 0.05). The highly sensitive group revealed higher sample entropy values (1.83 ± 0.10 vs. 1.77 ± 0.13, = 0.031). The increased sample entropy in the highly sensitive group was most pronounced in the central, temporal, and parietal regions.
For the first time, neurophysiological complexity features associated with SPS during a task-free resting state were demonstrated. Evidence is provided that neural processes differ between low- and highly-sensitive persons, whereby the latter displayed increased neural entropy. The findings support the central theoretical assumption of enhanced information processing and could be important for developing biomarkers for clinical diagnostics.
本研究旨在回答以下研究问题：（1）自我报告的感觉加工敏感性（SPS）水平是否与脑电图（EEG）的复杂性或关键性特征相关？（2）比较高SPS水平和低SPS水平的个体，脑电图是否存在显著差异？
115名参与者在无任务静息状态下接受64通道脑电图测量。使用关键性理论工具（去趋势波动分析、神经元雪崩分析）和复杂性测量方法（样本熵、 Higuchi分形维数）对数据进行分析。确定与“高敏感人群量表”（HSPS-G）得分的相关性。然后，将队列中最低和最高的30%作为对立组进行对比。通过应用Wilcoxon符号秩检验比较两组之间的脑电图特征。
在睁眼静息期间，HSPS-G得分与样本熵和Higuchi分形维数显著正相关（ρ = 0.22，<0.05）。高敏感组显示出更高的样本熵值（1.83±0.10对1.77±0.13，= 0.031）。高敏感组样本熵增加在中央、颞叶和顶叶区域最为明显。
首次证明了在无任务静息状态下与SPS相关的神经生理复杂性特征。有证据表明，低敏感者和高敏感者的神经过程存在差异，其中后者表现出神经熵增加。这些发现支持了增强信息处理的核心理论假设，可能对开发临床诊断生物标志物具有重要意义。
