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Mental health

New Study Reveals EEG Microstates as Potential Biomarkers for Non-Suicidal Self-Injury in Depression Patients

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

A recent study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research has shed light on the potential use of electroencephalogram (EEG) microstates as biomarkers to identify non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). Researchers from the Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University analyzed resting-state EEG from 102 drug-naive MDD patients, including 46 with NSSI behavior and 56 without, alongside 50 healthy controls.

Key Takeaways:

  • The study found that young adults with drug-naive MDD and NSSI behavior exhibit unique microstate dynamics, with increased coverage for microstate C compared to healthy controls and non-NSSI patients.
  • The frequency of NSSI across time frames (past 1 month, 6 months, 1 year) is positively correlated with the coverage of microstate C in all MDD patients.
  • The study suggests that EEG microstates C could potentially be used as neurobiological markers to identify NSSI in individuals with MDD.
  • Researchers employed the EEG microstate analysis method to compute principal indicators for four distinct classic microstates, including duration, occurrence, time coverage, and transitional probability.
  • The study found that healthy controls had higher coverage and duration of microstate D compared to both MDD patients (NSSI and non-NSSI) and had similar performances in microstates A and B compared to the NSSI group.

Statistics:

  • 102 drug-naive MDD patients were included in the study, with 46 exhibiting NSSI behavior and 56 without.
  • 50 healthy controls were also included in the study.
  • The study found that the NSSI group showed significantly increased coverage for microstate C compared to the healthy control and non-NSSI groups. (p < 0.01)
  • The frequency of NSSI across time frames (past 1 month, 6 months, 1 year) is positively correlated with the coverage of microstate C (r = 0.56, p < 0.001).
  • The study found that healthy controls had higher coverage and duration of microstate D compared to both MDD patients (NSSI and non-NSSI) (p < 0.01).

Sources:

  • Zhang, Q., et al. (2025). EEG microstates as biomarkers of drug-naive major depressive disorder in young adults with non-suicidal self-injury. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 191, 238-246.
  • Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2025;191:238-246. Journal of Psychiatric Research can be contacted at: Pergamon-elsevier Science Ltd, The Boulevard, Langford Lane, Kidlington, Oxford OX5 1GB, England.

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