The evaluation of structural differences between the sleep EEGs of depressive and normal subjects by using itakura distance measure: A preliminary study

Abstract

Electroencephalogram (EEG): It is used to diagnose, monitor, and manage neurophysiological disorders related to epilepsy and sleep disorders. The definition of sleep and wakefulness in polysomnography is also made with the EEG technique. The relationship between depression and sleep disturbances has been examined in many epidemiological and clinical studies. Clinical observations and studies suggest that the changes in sleep structure in depression are sensitive, even specific. This study aims to research the structural differences in sleep EEGs of healthy subjects and subjects with depressive disorder between their non-rapid eye movement (NREM), non-rapid eye movement (N2), and rapid eye movement (REM) stages by using the Itakura Distance Measure. In comparison between the N2 and REM epochs of the healthy subjects, the distance is short. In the comparison between N2 and REM epochs of depressed subjects with each other and healthy subjects, the distance has been found to be large. The study indicates that the sleep EEG of the patients differs in the N2 stage as much as it does in REM. Copyright 2021, Yıldız Technical University.