# Resting-State EEG Correlates of Childhood Maltreatment and Depression: Potential Neurophysiological Links and Future Research Directions

## TL;DR

This paper reviews how childhood maltreatment and depression are linked through resting-state EEG patterns, aiming to identify potential neurophysiological biomarkers.

## Contribution

The paper synthesizes resting-state EEG findings common to childhood maltreatment and depression to guide future causal model development.

## Key findings

- Atypical beta and theta band power may indicate a link between childhood maltreatment and EEG patterns.
- Frontal alpha asymmetry and altered default mode network connectivity are potential indicators of the CM-EEG association.
- More large-sample EEG studies are needed to understand the neurophysiological impact of childhood maltreatment independently of depression.

## Abstract

The experience of childhood maltreatment (CM) increases the risk for depressive disorders by two-and-a-half times across the lifespan. Although stress system and immunological models offer some explanation of this vulnerability, further investigation is required to understand the underlying neurophysiological mechanisms and identify potential biomarkers for diagnosis and treatment. Resting-state electroencephalography (EEG) offers a low-cost, non-invasive, and accessible methodology for that purpose. This narrative review synthesizes resting-state EEG findings that are common to CM and depression as a primer for further research and the future formulation of a model that may link these two in a causal manner. Although evidence supports atypical beta and theta band power, frontal alpha asymmetry and altered default mode network functional connectivity as possible indicators of the CM-EEG association, there is a paucity of EEG-based CM research available to complement the extensive depression-focused literature. Large-sample, prospective EEG studies of CM that consider confounding factors and assess the neurophysiological impact of CM independent of psychopathologies are required.