Sex differences in QEEG in adolescents with conduct disorder and psychopathic traits

Ana Calzada-Reyes; Alfredo Alvarez-Amador; Lidice Galán-García; Mitchell Valdés-Sosa

doi:10.14253/acn.2019.21.1.16

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Calzada-Reyes, Alvarez-Amador, Galán-García, and Valdés-Sosa: Sex differences in QEEG in adolescents with conduct disorder and psychopathic traits

Original Article

Ann Clin Neurophysiol 2019;21(1):16-29.

Published online: 20 January 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.14253/acn.2019.21.1.16

Sex differences in QEEG in adolescents with conduct disorder and psychopathic traits

Ana Calzada-Reyes^1,, Alfredo Alvarez-Amador², Lidice Galán-García³, Mitchell Valdés-Sosa⁴

¹Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Cuban Center for Neuroscience, Havana, Cuba

²Department of Clinical Neurophysiology, Cuban Center for Neuroscience, Havana, Cuba

³Department of Neurostatistic, Cuban Center for Neuroscience, Havana, Cuba

⁴Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Cuban Center of Neuroscience, Havana, Cuba

Correspondence to Ana Calzada-Reyes Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Cuban Center for Neuroscience, 190 street between 25th and 27th Avenue, Playa, Havana, Cuba Tel: +53-7-263–7100 E-mail: anacalz@infomed.sld.cu

Received 15 May 2018 Revised 5 December 2018 Accepted 17 December 2018

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Background

Sex influences is important to understand behavioral manifestations in a large number of neuropsychiatric disorders. We found electrophysiological differences specifically related to the influence of sex on psychopathic traits.

Methods

The resting electroencephalography (EEG) activity and low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) for the EEG spectral bands were evaluated in 38 teenagers with conduct disorder (CD). The 25 male and 13 female subjects had psychopathic traits as diagnosed using the Antisocial Process Screening Device. All of the included adolescents were assessed using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) criteria. The visually inspected EEG characteristics and the use of frequency-domain quantitative analysis techniques are described.

Results

Quantitative EEG (QEEG) analysis showed that the slow-wave activities in the right frontal and left central regions were higher and the alpha-band powers in the left central and bitemporal regions were lower in the male than the female psychopathic traits group. The current source density showed increases in paralimbic areas at 2.73 Hz and decreases in the frontoparietal area at 9.37 Hz in male psychopathics relative to female psychopathics.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that QEEG analysis and techniques of source localization can reveal sex differences in brain electrical activity between teenagers with CD and psychopathic traits that are not obvious in visual inspections.

Keywords: Electroencephalogram, Conduct disorder, Sex

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Fig. 1.

The anatomical distribution of the sources of delta-band activity (2.73 Hz) that were increased in the male psychopathic traits group were localized over a broad region within both hemispheres. The main regions where the activity was higher in the male than the female psychopathic traits group were the orbitofrontal cortex, supplementary motor area, fusiform area, rectus area, olfactory area, anterior cingulate, medial cingulate, medial temporal pole, parahippocampus, and amygdala in both hemispheres; the insula, superior temporal pole, medial temporal gyrus, and superior frontal gyrus in the right hemisphere; and the hippocampus in the left hemisphere. R, right hemisphere; L, left hemisphere; Z, the z-axis value for each image of the shown brain template.

Fig. 2.

The anatomical distribution of the sources of alpha-band activity (9.36 Hz) that were decreased in the male psychopathic traits group were localized over a broad region within the left hemisphere. The main regions where the activity was lower in the male than the female psychopathic traits group were the orbitofrontal cortex, three parts of the inferior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, opercular parts of the inferior frontal gyrus, superior frontal gyrus, insula, precentral area, supplementary motor area, postcentral area, supramarginal area, superior parietal gyrus, inferior parietal gyrus, and angular gyrus in the left hemisphere. R, right hemisphere; L, left hemisphere; Z, the z-axis value for each image of the shown brain template.

Table 1.

Comparison of demographic and behavior variables between the male and female teenagers with psychopathic traits

Variable	Male psychopathic traits	Female psychopathic traits	Statistic
Age (years)	15.66 (1.21)	15.35 (0.66)	F = 0.40
ASPD score	27.76 (4.30)	22.16 (6.09)	x² = 0.00^a
ADHD	11	5	x² = 0.41
Dissocial conduct disorder	16	9	x² = 0.76
Oppositional defiant disorder	5	3	x² = 0.83

Values are presented as number (%) unless otherwise indicated.

ADHD, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder; APSD, antisocial process screening device.

^a Anova or Pearson x², p < 0.05.

Table 2.

Classification of the adolescent electroencephalograms (EEG) in both groups by visual inspection

Group	Normal	Slow	paroxysmal	Slow and paroxysmal
Male psychopathic traits	1 (4.0)	9 (36.0)	12 (48.0)	3 (12.0)
Female psychopathic traits	3 (23.1)	5 (38.5)	4 (30.8)	1 (7.7)

Values are presented as number (%).

Table 3.

Topographic distribution of electroencephalography (EEG) abnormalities

Group	Slow			paroxysmal		Slow and paroxysmal
Group	Frontal	Temporal	Widespread	Frontal	Temporal	Frontal	Widespread
Male psychopathic traits	6 (24)	0 (0)	3 (12)	11 (44)	1 (4)	1 (4)	2 (8)
Female psychopathic traits	2 (15.4)	1 (7.7)	2 (15.4)	2 (15.4)	2 (15.4)	1 (7.7)	0 (0)

Values are presented as number (%).

Table 4.

Brain areas showing significant differences (q = 0.2) within the delta band (2.73 Hz) between male and female teenagers with psychopathic traits according to a voxel-by-voxel analysis using low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (LORETA)

x-mm	y-mm	z-mm	Brodmann area	Anatomical location
15	31	–24	Brodmann area 11	Orbitofrontal cortex
–18	14	–24	Brodmann area 11	Orbitofrontal cortex
37	15	–8	Brodmann area 47	Orbitofrontal cortex
8	25	52	Brodmann area 6	Supplementary motor area
–5	–12	52	Brodmann area 6	Supplementary motor area
25	–10	60	Brodmann area 8	Superior frontal gyrus
27	12	–44	Brodmann area 37	Fusiform
–21	2	–44	Brodmann area 37	Fusiform
–20	–9	–20	Brodmann area 35	Hippocampus
45	–9	–28	Brodmann area 38	Superior temporal pole
42	19	–44	Brodmann area 38	Medial temporal pole
31	11	–8	Brodmann area 13	Insula
20	–4	–28	Brodmann area 28	Parahippocampal
–18	–5	–28	Brodmann area 28	Parahippocampal
–20	–6	–16	Brodmann area 34	Amygdala
28	–1	–28	Brodmann area 34	Amygdala
–6	29	–20	Brodmann area 11	Rectus
8	23	–24	Brodmann area 11	Rectus
13	8	–16	Brodmann area 25	Olfactory
–11	9	–16	Brodmann area 25	Olfactory
6	22	32	Brodmann area 24	Medial cingulate
–5	22	36	Brodmann area 24	Medial cingulate
52	1	–28	Brodmann area 21	Medial temporal
5	11	24	Brodmann area 24	Anterior cingulate
–4	21	24	Brodmann area 24	Anterior cingulate
–24	17	–36	Brodmann area 38	Medial temporal pole

Coordinates are given in millimeters, and the origin is at the anterior commissure. Negative and positive x, y, and z values represent left and right, respectively, posterior and anterior, and inferior and superior.

Table 5.

Brain areas showing statistical differences (q = 0.1) in alpha frequency (9.36 Hz) between male and female teenagers with psychopathic traits

x-mm	y-mm	z-mm	Brodmann area	Anatomical location
–46	30	–8	Brodmann area 47	Orbitofrontal cortex
–53	27	12	Brodmann area 45	Tri portions of the inferior frontal gyrus
–15	34	52	Brodmann area 8	Superior frontal gyrus
–35	33	32	Brodmann area 46	Medial frontal gyrus
–55	6	12	Brodmann area 44	Opercular portions of the inferior frontal gyrus
–30	20	4	Brodmann area 13	Insula
–64	6	24	Brodmann area 6	Precentral
–58	–1	2	Brodmann area 43	Postcentral area
–61	–38	32	Brodmann area 2	Supramarginal
–10	19	60	Brodmann area 8	Supplementary Motor area
–26	–55	60	Brodmann area 7	Superior parietal gyrus
–40	–50	56	Brodmann area 40	Inferior parietal gyrus
–42	–62	64	Brodmann area 39	Angular gyrus

According to voxel by voxel analysis with Low-Resolution Brain Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA). Coordinates are given in millimeters, and the origin is at the anterior commissure. For x, negative values represent left, positive values represent right. For y, negative values represent posterior, positive values represent anterior. For z, negative values represent inferior, positive values represent superior.

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