ArticleJournal of neurosciences in rural practice
Study of Frontal Alpha Asymmetry in Mild Depression: A Potential Biomarker or Not?
Article in Journal of neurosciences in rural practice. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Resting-state EEG activity in depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2026Pooled it
- The relationship between emotional regulation and hemispheric lateralization in depression: a systematic review and a meta-analysis.Translational psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Biomarkers for mood disorders: A scoping review of research from India.Indian journal of psychiatry · 2026Review
- Effects of age and musical training on resting-state periodic oscillatory brain activity.GeroScience · 2026Article
- Quantitative electroencephalography as a next-generation tool in neurodiagnostics: significance, clinical applications, and practical interpretative frameworks.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- Review
- Aperiodic (1/f) Neural Activity Robustly Tracks Symptom Severity Changes in Treatment-Resistant Depression.Biological psychiatry. Cognitive neuroscience and neuroimaging · 2025Article
- Meta analysis of resting frontal alpha asymmetry as a biomarker of depression.Npj mental health research · 2025Article
- Quantitative and qualitative electroencephalography in the diagnosis and monitoring of depression. A modern approach to clinical neurophysiology.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2025Review
- Aperiodic neural activity is a biomarker for depression severity.medRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2023Article
- Functional role of frontal electroencephalogram alpha asymmetry in the resting state in patients with depression: A review.World journal of clinical cases · 2023Review
- Frontal Electroencephalogram Alpha Asymmetry during Mental Stress Related to Workplace Noise.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Prediction of Antidepressant Treatment Outcome Using Event-Related Potential in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDepression, despite being the most common of mental illness lacks any quantifiable and absolute biomarker. Frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) is proposed as biomarker of depression both in resting and activated state. Yet, the location of extraction of alpha, clinical utility as well as validity of FAA is uncertain. With aim of obtaining clarity on this confusion we conducted this study. METHODOLOGY: Electroencephalographic frontal alpha power was calculated in patients of depression (
resultsFrontal alpha power was measured across FP1, FP2, F3, F4, F7, and F8. Mean powers were compared in resting (before), activated (during) and postactivated resting stage (after). FAA was statistically significant in F7-F8 pair of electrodes and on F7 electrode when compared between cases and controls.
conclusionQuest for biomarker for depression churned out FAA as frontrunner. Despite of vast amount of research on it, practical utility eludes us. We need to revisit our approach from conventional search of the diagnostic biomarker; as FAA might reflect component of depression but not totally disorder. In our opinion, we are not yet ready for it and have a road ahead to travel.
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