The Timecourse of Electrophysiological Brain–Heart Interaction in DoC Patients

Disorders of Consciousness (DOC) are a spectrum of pathologies affecting one’s ability to interact with the external world. Two possible conditions of patients with DOC are Unresponsive Wakefulness Syndrome/Vegetative State (UWS/VS) and Minimally Conscious State (MCS). Analysis of spontaneous EEG activity and the Heart Rate Variability (HRV) are effective techniques in exploring and evaluating patients with DOC. This study aims to observe fluctuations in EEG and HRV parameters in the morning/afternoon resting-state recording. The study enrolled 13 voluntary Healthy Control (HC) subjects and 12 DOC patients (7 MCS, 5 UWS/VS). EEG and EKG were recorded. PSDalpha, PSDtheta powerband, alpha-blocking, alpha/theta of the EEG, Complexity Index (CI) and SDNN of EKG were analyzed. Higher values of PSDalpha, alpha-blocking, alpha/theta and CI values and lower values of PSD theta characterized HC individuals in the morning with respect to DOC patients. In the afternoon, we detected a significant difference between groups in the CI, PSDalpha, PSDtheta, alpha/theta and SDNN, with lower PSDtheta value for HC. CRS-R scores showed a strong correlation with recorded parameters mainly during evaluations in the morning. Our finding put in evidence the importance of the assessment, as the stimulation of DOC patients in research for behavioural response, in the morning.