Dynamics of behavioral organization and its alteration in major depression

Abstract

We describe the nature of human behavioral organization, specifically how resting and active periods are interwoven throughout daily life. Active period durations with physical activity counts successively above a predefined threshold follow a stretched exponential (gamma‐type) cumulative distribution with characteristic time, both in healthy individuals and in patients with major depressive disorder. On the contrary, resting period durations below the threshold for both groups obey a scale free power law cumulative distribution over two decades, with significantly lower scaling exponents in the patients. We thus find underlying robust laws governing human behavioral organization, with a parameter altered in depression.