Alterations in temporal-spatial brain entropy in treatment-resistant depression treated with nitrous oxide: Evidence from resting-state EEG.
Weizhuang Kong, Zhe Sun, Jing Zhu, Lingjiang Li, Guanru Wang, Xuexiao Shao, Xiaowei Li, Bin Hu
Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology March 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2025.01.014 via PubMed
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractNitrous oxide inhalation produced time-dependent increases in brain entropy, particularly in the frontal lobe, among patients with treatment-resistant depression. These entropy changes, measured via multivariate multiscale entropy analysis of resting-state EEG, correlated with symptom severity and treatment efficacy, suggesting frontal region temporal-spatial brain entropy may serve as a biomarker for treatment-resistant depression and its treatment outcomes.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 44 |
| Population | Treatment-resistant depression (TRD) patients |
| Intervention | Nitrous oxide inhalation |
| Dose | 1-hour nitrous oxide inhalation treatment |
| Duration | 1-hour intervention, 24-hour post-treatment follow-up |
| Keywords | Multivariate multiscale entropy Nitrous oxide Resting-State EEG Temporal-spatial brain entropy Treatment resistant depression |
| Key finding | Nitrous oxide treatment led to significant time-dependent increases in brain entropy in the frontal lobe region, which correlated with symptom severity and treatment efficacy. |
Abstract
Entropy analysis can quantify the dynamic states of the brain and reflect its information processing capacity. Nitrous oxide has shown rapid antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) patients, but its biomarkers are not yet established. We recruited 44 TRD patients and randomly assigned them to two groups: one received a 1-hour nitrous oxide inhalation treatment, while the other received a placebo. Resting-state EEG (rs-EEG) scans were conducted at baseline and 24 h post-treatment. A novel approach based multivariate multiscale entropy (MMSE) was employed to analyze temporal-spatial brain entropy (ts-BEN) across four hierarchical brain regions. TRD patients exhibited significant time-dependent increases in BEN in the frontal lobe region (sensor space: time scales 5-10; source space: time scales 1-5), changes not previously observed. Temporal-spatial BEN correlated with the severity of TRD symptoms and treatment efficacy, indicating adaptive adjustments in brain resting states. MMSE offers a novel supplementary method for rs-EEG BEN analysis, quantifying the sensitivity of ts-BEN in monitoring nitrous oxide treatment effects. Changes in frontal region ts-BEN may serve as potential biomarkers for TRD and its treatment outcomes. Our findings enhance the understanding of the physiological mechanisms underlying nitrous oxide treatment for TRD, aiding in clinical diagnosis.