Eeg Microstate Analysis in Patients With Disorders of Consciousness and Its Clinical Relevance

Abstract Disorders of Consciousness are divided into categories such as vegetative and minimally conscious states. Objective measures that allow correct identification of vegetative and minimally conscious state patients are required. EEG Microstate analysis is a promising approach that we believe has the potential to be effective in examining the resting state activities of the brain in different stages of consciousness by allowing the proper identification of vegetative and minimally conscious patients. As a result, we try to identify clinical evaluation scales and microstate characteristics with resting state EEGs from individuals with Disorders of Consciousness. Our prospective observational study included thirty individuals with a Disorder of Consciousness. As the control group, we included EEG data from 18 healthy individuals. We made clinical evaluations using patient behavior scales. We also analyzed the EEG data quantitatively and compared statistically using microstate analysis. In our study, microstate D coverage and occurrence differed substantially between vegetative and minimally conscious state patients. We performed microstate analysis on resting-state EEGs of patients with Disorders of Consciousness. There was a strong connection between microstate D characteristics and clinical scale scores. We also found significant relationships between microstate transition probabilities and clinical scale scores. We have shown that microstate D is the most potent parameter representing consciousness. Microstate analysis appears to be a strong option for future use in the diagnosis, follow-up, and treatment response of patients with Disorders of Consciousness.