Comparison of frontal alpha asymmetry among schizophrenia patients, major depressive disorder patients, and healthy controls

BACKGROUND: Electroencephalography (EEG) frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) has been observed in several psychiatric disorders. Dominance in left or right frontal alpha activity remains inconsistent in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), patients with schizophrenia, and healthy controls. This study compared FAA among patients with MDD and schizophrenia, and healthy controls. METHODS: We recruited 20 patients with MDD, 18 patients with schizophrenia, and 16 healthy individuals. The EEG alpha frequency ranged from 8 Hz to 12 Hz. FAA was expressed as the difference between absolute power values of right and left hemisphere electrodes in the alpha frequency range (common-log-transformed frontal right- and left-hemisphere electrodes: F4–F3, F8–F7, FP2–FP1, AF4–AF3, F6–F5, and F2–F1). Hamilton depression and anxiety rating scales were evaluated in patients with MDD. Positive and negative syndrome scales were evaluated in patients with schizophrenia. RESULTS: Patients with schizophrenia showed significantly lower left FAA than healthy controls (F4–F3, schizophrenia vs. healthy controls: − 0.10 ± 0.04 vs. -0.05 ± 0.05). There were no significant differences in FAA between patients with schizophrenia and MDD as well as between patients with MDD and healthy controls. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that FAA indicates a relatively lower activation of left frontal electrodes in schizophrenia. The left-lateralized FAA could be a neuropathological attribute in patients with schizophrenia, but a lack of sample size and information such as medication and duration of illness might obscure the interpretation and generalization of our findings. Thus, further studies to verify the findings would be warranted. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12888-020-02972-8.