Long-term stability of resting state EEG-based linear and nonlinear measures

Abstract

This preliminary study is aimed to evaluate the stability of various linear and nonlinear EEG measures over three years on healthy adults. The linear measures, relative powers of EEG frequency bands, interhemispheric (IHAS) and spectral (SASI) asymmetries plus nonlinear Higuchi's fractal dimension (HFD) and detrended fluctuation analyses (DFA), have been calculated from the resting state eyes closed EEG of 17 participants during two sessions separated over three years. Our results indicate that the stability is highest for the nonlinear (HFD and DFA) and the linear (relative powers of EEG frequency bands) EEG measures that use the signal from a single EEG channel and frequency band, followed by the SASI employing signals from a single channel and two frequency bands and lowest for the IHAS employing signals from two channels. The result support the prospect of using EEG-based measures in clinical practice.