VIGALL 2.0: Analyzing different functional brain states and their regulation during resting states

by Ulrich Hegerl, Tilman Hensch, Daniel Böttger, Christian Sander
University of Leipzig, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy (Germany)

VIGALL 2.0: Analyzing different functional brain states and their regulation during resting statesVIGALL 2.0 – a BrainVision Analyzer-compatible tool developed by the University of Leipzig for analysis of different functional brain states (vigilance stages) and their regulation during resting states

Vigilance (or brain arousal) strongly influences performance and neurophysiological reactions to stimuli and tasks. Dysregulation of vigilance is an important element in the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric diseases. VIGALL 2.0 provides a tool to assess this basic aspect of brain function.

Background

The human brain is a highly integrated network which is permanently interacting with itself. This network has different global functional states corresponding to different modes of function (similar to the different gears of a car). These can be separated based on the temporo-spatial pattern of scalp-recorded EEG and EOG activity. Such global functional brain states (levels of brain-arousal called “vigilance stages”) can be separated not only during sleep (e.g. slow wave sleep, REM) but also during the transition from active wakefulness to drowsiness and sleep onset.

The fundamental importance of the level and the precise and rapid adaptation and regulation of vigilance to the environment is obvious. Vigilance levels not only differ profoundly concerning EEG activity, but also determine our behavioral and neurophysiological response to stimuli and tasks (Bekhtereva et al., 2014; Minkwitz et al., 2011/2012). Vigilance regulation, i.e. the ability to maintain or alternate between vigilance stages, determines whether we can keep up our alertness and focused attention or whether we are able to “come down”, to relax and to fall asleep under defined conditions, which has importance e.g. for fMRI, PET or SPECT recordings.

However, research on this central neurophysiological mechanism and its role in cognitive functioning as well as its pathophysiologic relevance in different neuropsychiatric disorders has been hampered by the lack of valid and time economic classification tools. Objective tests for the regulation of vigilance like the Multiple Sleep Latency Test or the Maintenance of Wakefulness Test (Littner et al., 2005) are time-consuming and fail to provide information about the transitions between different vigilance stages during wakefulness.

Vigilance stages

Changes of EEG activity during the transition from active wakefulness to sleep onset are well described (Bente, 1964; Roth, 1961) and have been shown in many studies (Benca et al., 1999; Cantero et al., 2002; Corsi-Cabrera et al., 2000; De Gennaro et al., 2001a/b/2004; De Gennaro and Ferrara, 2003; Kaida et al., 2006; Marzano et al., 2007; Strijkstra et al., 2003; Tsuno et al., 2002). The following vigilance stages can be observed during the transition from high alertness to relaxed wakefulness to drowsiness and finally sleep onset (see figure 1):

  • Stage 0: desynchronized non-alpha EEG in the absence of slow horizontal eye movements; found during an activated state (e.g. mental effort)
  • Stage A1: with dominant alpha activity corresponding to relaxed wakefulness
  • Stage A2: with spreading of alpha activity from occipital to more anterior cortices
  • Stage A3: with pronounced frontal alpha activity; beginning of drowsiness
  • Stage B1: non-alpha EEG with low amplitude (similar spectral composition to stage 0) but with presence of slow horizontal eye movements; drowsiness
  • Stage B2/3: non-alpha EEG with predominant theta/delta activity, occasional occurrence of vertex waves; drowsiness and transition to sleep onset
  • Stage C: commencing with occurrence of sleep spindles or K-complexes; sleep onset
VIGALL 2.0: Analyzing different functional brain states and their regulation during resting states

Figure 1: Examples of the distinct vigilance stages that can be separated by the VIGALL algorithm, according to EEG and HEOG characteristics (see text for details).

Regulation of vigilance

The regulation of vigilance shows considerable inter-individual differences (see figure 2 for a schematic illustration). During a twenty-minute eyes-closed resting condition, most subjects show progressive declines to lower vigilance stages (adaptive vigilance regulation). However, while some subjects exhibit rapid declines within only a few seconds (unstable vigilance regulation), others continuously remain in stages of high vigilance (hyperstable vigilance regulation). This trait is modulated by many individual and environmental factors such as sleep deficits, vigilance enhancing substances (e.g. caffeine, nicotine), effort, motivation, and disease related factors. Therefore, care must be taken, to record EEG under comparable conditions and subjects are not to be distracted or awoken during the recording.

VIGALL 2.0: Analyzing different functional brain states and their regulation during resting states

Figure 2: Schematic Illustration of the three main patterns of vigilance regulation and their association with psychiatric diseases. Under normal circumstances subjects show a gradually declining vigilance level when recorded under prolonges resting conditions without external stimulation (adaptive vigilance regulation). In some cases rapid drops to lower vigilance levels shortly after the beginning of the recording are seen (instable vigilance regulation) or, on the contrary, the decline in vigilance is delayed or even absent (hyperstable vigilance regulation).

Vigilance regulation is a promising diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for affective disorders, ADHD or fatigue (Geissler et al., 2014; Hegerl et al., 2013; Schönknecht et al 2011,). Recently, a vigilance regulation model of affective disorders has been put forward (Hegerl & Hensch, 2014) in which behavioral syndromes are interpreted as an autoregulatory reaction to a dysregulation of vigilance. For example, hyperactivity and sensation seeking observed in mania and to a lesser degree in ADHD are interpreted as an autoregulatory attempt of the organism to stabilize vigilance by increasing external stimulation (in analogy to the behavior exhibited by overtired children). On the other hand, the withdrawal and sensation avoidance seen in major depression (MD) is interpreted as a reaction to a hyperstable vigilance regulation. Indeed, compared to healthy controls, a more stable vigilance regulation was reported in unmedicated patients with MD (Hegerl et al., 2012, Olbrich et al., 2012b; Ulrich & Fuerstenberg, 1999) and there are several hints for an unstable vigilance regulation in ADHD and mania (Hegerl et al., 2009/2010; Sander et al., 2010; Schönknecht et al., 2010; Small et al., 1999.

VIGALL 2.0

To facilitate research on vigilance regulation, a computer algorithm has been developed by the neurobiological research group led by Prof. Ulrich Hegerl at the Department of Psychiatry (University Hospital Leipzig, Germany). VIGALL 2.0 (Vigilance Algorithm Leipzig, VIGALL[1]) is an EEG- and EOG-based algorithm which enables to objectively assess the level of vigilance within EEG recordings, by automatically attributing the respective vigilance stage to EEG-segments (Hegerl et al., 2008; Olbrich et al., 2009, 2012a, Sander et al., submitted). This allows investigations on how vigilance is regulated during the recording period. The algorithm used in VIGALL 2.0 takes into account both the frequency patterns and the cortical distribution of EEG activity using EEG source localization approaches (Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography, LORETA; Pascual-Marqui et al., 1994/2002). Since EEG activity is characterized by high intra-individual stability and large inter-individual variability, VIGALL 2.0 has adaptive features concerning individual alpha peaks and amplitude levels.

VIGALL 2.0 improves upon an earlier version of the algorithm which has been validated performing simultaneous EEG-fMRI- (Olbrich et al. 2009) as well as simultaneous EEG/FDG-PET-studies (Guenther et al 2011) and by relating the vigilance stages to different behavioral and autonomic parameters (Minkwitz et al 2011, Olbrich et al. 2011).

VIGALL 2.0 is not applicable for certain EEGs, e.g. those showing alpha variant rhythms, major modifications due to drugs (e.g. anticholinergic drugs) or diseases (e.g. severe Alzheimer’s disease) or to EEGs from children under the age of 10 (or older in case of delayed maturation.

Requirements for VIGALL usage

VIGALL 2.0 is implemented as an Add-In for BrainVision Analyzer 2.0, making it easy to install and use. Software requirements are BrainVision Analyzer Software 2.0 with the current updates (available as downloads from www.brainproducts.com). If these requirements are met, the installation is simple. The VIGALL can be found for free download exclusively at the VIGALL homepage at: http://uni-leipzig.de/~vigall/

After the VIGALL.dll-File has been downloaded it is simply to be copied into the Analyzer program folder (usually C:\Vision\Analyzer2\). While running the Analyzer software, VIGALL is accessible via the menu under „Add Ins → VIGALL“ (see figure 3).

The VIGALL comes with a manual containing a detailed user’s guide on how to record EEGs for assessment of vigilance regulation, how to process EEGs and how to use the VIGALL. The manual can also be downloaded from the above stated homepage. For scientific support and technical questions interested parties should get in contact with the neurobiological research group of Prof. Hegerl via the VIGALL homepage (http://www.uni-leipzig.de/~vigall/).

VIGALL 2.0: Analyzing different functional brain states and their regulation during resting states

Figure 3: After installation of the VIGALL.dll in the analyzer folder, VIGALL 2.0 can be started as an Add In from the Analyzer navigation bar.

Where to use VIGALL 2.0?

Vigilance levels and their regulation strongly influence the outcome to all kinds of tasks (e.g. reaction time, sustained attention, all kinds of cognitive tasks) and neurobiological recordings (ERP, functional brain imaging), and are part of the pathophysiology of most neuropsychiatric disorders. Concrete examples for application of VIGALL are:

  • To monitor changes in wakefulness during resting-state MRI recordings. Such monitoring should not be limited to switches between sleep and wakefulness (Tagliazucchi & Laufs, 2014) but should also take into account that the wake state itself is also not homogeneous. According to a simultaneous EEG-fMRI study applying VIGALL (Olbrich et al., 2009), BOLD signal increases in several cortical and decreases in subcortical areas during vigilance declines.
  • To study the relationship between pre-stimulus vigilance stage and reaction time or event related potentials. VIGALL allows to specify a certain time window around defined EEG-markers (e.g. markers indicating stimuli or reaction by subject), for which VIGALL will then classify the respective vigilance stage.
  • Vigilance regulation provides a neurophysiological parameter for the study of wakefulness (with more detailed information compared to the Multiple Sleep Latency Test) in the context of psychiatric disorders or clinical trials. The routine clinical EEG recordings (~3min of closed eyes) do not allow studying this important neurophysiological marker. Prolonged (15min and more) resting-EEGs are needed which can be easily and rapidly evaluated using VIGALL (Hegerl et al., 2008/2012; Olbrich et al., 2011/2012a/b/2013).
  • To control for differences in vigilance regulation in diagnostic tests that are dependent on brain activity and arousal. Up to now, such differences are rarely studied and in most cases not taken into account when interpreting group differences. However, doing so is likely to reduce variance and to improve diagnostic validity of functional brain imaging. For example, more than 50% of inter-individual variance in FDG-PET could be explained by inter-individual differences in vigilance stages during the trapping period (Guenther et al 2011).

Sincerely yours,

Ulrich Hegerl & Christian Sander and the Neurobiological Research Group

Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
University of Leipzig
Semmelweisstr. 10, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
Ulrich.Hegerl@medizin.uni-leipzig.de
www.uni-leipzig.de/~vigall/


[1] The development of VIGALL 2.0 was supported by LIFE – Leipzig Research Center for Civilization Diseases, Universität Leipzig. LIFE is funded by means of the European Union, by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and by means of the Free State of Saxony within the framework of the excellence initiative.

For further reading

[1] Bekhtereva V, Sander C, Forschack N, Olbrich S, Hegerl U, Müller MM.
Effects of EEG-vigilance regulation patterns on early perceptual processes in human visual cortex. Clin Neurophysiol. 2014; 125(1): 98-107.

[2] Geissler J, Romanos M, Hegerl U, Hensch T.
Hyperactivity and sensation seeking as autoregulatory attempts to stabilize brain arousal in ADHD and mania? Atten Defic Hyperact Disord. 2014 [Epub ahead of print]. doi: 10.1007/s12402-014-0144-z.

[3] Guenther T, Schönknecht P, Becker G, Olbrich S, Sander C, Hesse S, Meyer PM, Luthardt J, Hegerl U, Sabri O.
Impact of EEG-vigilance on brain glucose uptake measured with [(18)F]FDG and PET in patients with depressive episode or mild cognitive impairment. NeuroImage 2011; 56 (1): 93-101.

[4] Hegerl U, Hensch T:
The vigilance regulation model of affective disorders and ADHD. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2014; 44c: 45-57.

[5] Hegerl U, Himmerich H, Engmann B, Hensch T.
Mania and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: common symptomatology, common pathology and common treatment? Curr Opin Psychiatry 2010; 23: 1-7.

[6] Hegerl U, Lam RW, Malhi GS, McIntyre RS, Demyttenaere K, Mergl R, Gorwood P.
Conceptualising the neurobiology of fatigue. Aust N Z J Psychiatry 2013; 47(4): 312-6.

[7] Hegerl U, Sander C, Olbrich S, Schoenknecht P.
Are psychostimulants a treatment option in mania? Pharmacopsychiatry 2009; 42: 169-74.

[8] Hegerl U, Stein M, Mulert C, Mergl R, Olbrich S, Dichgans E, Rujescu D, Pogarell O.
EEG-vigilance differences between patients with borderline personality disorder, patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and healthy controls. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2008; 258(3): 137-43.

[9] Hegerl U, Wilk K, Olbrich S, Schönknecht P, Sander C.
Hyperstable regulation of vigilance in patients with Major Depressive Disorder. World J Biol Psychiatry 2012; 13(6): 436-46.

[10] Minkwitz J, Trenner MU, Sander C, Olbrich S, Sheldrick AJ, Hegerl U, Himmerich H.
Time perception at different EEG-vigilance levels. Behav Brain Funct 2012; 8: 50.

[11] Minkwitz J, Trenner MU, Sander C, Olbrich S, Sheldrick AJ, Schönknecht P, Hegerl U, Himmerich H.
Prestimulus vigilance predicts response speed in an easy visual discrimination task. Behav Brain Funct. 2011; 7: 31.

[12] Olbrich S, Mulert C, Karch S, Trenner M, Leicht G, Pogarell O, Hegerl U.
EEG-Vigilance and BOLD effect during simultaneous EEG/FMRI measurement. NeuroImage 2009; 45 (2): 319-32.

[13] Olbrich S, Olbrich H, Jahn I, Sander C, Adamaszek M, Hegerl U, Reque F, Stengler K.
EEG-vigilance regulation during the resting state in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Clin Neurophysiol. 2013; 124(3): 497-502.

[14] Olbrich S, Sander C, Matschinger H, Mergl R, Trenner M, Schönknecht P, Hegerl U.
Brain and body: Associations between EEG-vigilance and the autonomous nervous system activity during rest. J Psychophysiol 2011; 25(4): 190–200.

[15] Olbrich S, Sander C, Jahn I, Eplinius F, Claus S, Mergl R, Schönknecht P, Hegerl U.
Unstable EEG-vigilance in patients with cancer-related fatigue (CRF) in comparison to healthy controls. World J Biol Psychiatry 2012(a); 13(2): 146-52.

[16] Olbrich S, Sander C, Minkwitz J, Chittka T, Mergl R, Hegerl U, Himmerich H.
EEG vigilance regulation patterns and their discriminative power to separate patients with major depression from healthy controls. Neuropsychobiology 2012(b); 65(4): 188-94.

[17] Sander C, Arns M, Olbrich S, Hegerl U.
EEG-vigilance and response to stimulants in paediatric patients with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Clin Neurophysiol 2010; 121: 1511-8.

[18] Sander C, Hensch T, Wittekind DA, Böttger D, Hegerl U.
Assessment of wakefulness and vigilance in psychiatric research. Neuropsychobiology (submitted).

[19] Schönknecht P, Olbrich S, Sander C, Spindler P, Hegerl U.
Treatment of acute mania with Modafinil monotherapy. Biol Psychiatry 2010; 67(11): e55-7.

References

[1] Bente D. (1964).[Vigilance, dissociative shifts of vigilance and insufficient tonus of vigilance]. In H. Kranz & K. Heinrich (Eds.), [Side effects and failings of psychiatric pharmacotherapy] (pp. 13–28). Stuttgart, Germany: Thieme.

[2] Benca RM, Obermeyer WH, Larson CL, Yun B, Dolski I, Kleist KD, Weber SM, Davidson RJ.
EEG alpha power and alpha power asymmetry in sleep and wakefulness. Psychophysiology 1999; 36:430-6.

[3] Cantero JL, Atienza M, Salas RM. Human alpha oscillations in wakefulness, drowsiness period, and REM sleep: different electroencephalographic phenomena within the alpha band. Neurophysiol Clin 2002; 32: 54-71.

[4] Corsi-Cabrera M, Guevara MA, Del Río-Portilla Y, Arce C, Villanueva-Hernández Y.
EEG bands during wakefulness, slow-wave and paradoxical sleep as a result of principal component analysis in man. Sleep 2000; 23: 738-44.

[5] De Gennaro L, Ferrara M, Bertini M.
The boundary between wakefulness and sleep: quantitative electroencephalographic changes during the sleep onset period. Neuroscience 2001(a); 107: 1-11.

[6] De Gennaro L, Ferrara M, Curcio G, Cristiani R.
Antero-posterior EEG changes during the wakefulness-sleep transition. Clin Neurophysiol 2001(b); 112: 1901-11.

[7] De Gennaro L, Ferrara M.
Sleep spindles: An overview. Sleep Med Rev 2003; 7: 423-40.

[8] De Gennaro L, Vecchio F, Ferrara M, Curcio G, Rossini PM, Babiloni C.
Changes in fronto-posterior functional coupling at sleep onset in humans. J Sleep Res 2004; 13: 209-17.

[9] Kaida K, Takahashi M, Akerstedt T, Nakata A, Otsuka Y, Haratani T, Fukasawa K.
Validation of the Karolinska sleepiness scale against performance and EEG variables. Clin Neurophysiol 2006; 117: 1574-81.

[10] Littner MR, Kushida C, Wise M, Davila DG, Morgenthaler T, Lee-Chiong T, Hirshkowitz M, Daniel LL, Bailey D, Berry RB, Kapen S, Kramer M;
Standards of Practice Committee of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Practice parameters for clinical use of the multiple sleep latency test and the maintenance of wakefulness test. Sleep 2005; 28(1): 113-21.

[11] Marzano C, Fratello F, Moroni F, Pellicciari MC, Curcio G, Ferrara M, Ferlazzo F, De Gennaro L.
Slow eye movements and subjective estimates of sleepiness predict EEG power changes during sleep deprivation. Sleep 2007; 30: 610-6.

[12] Pascual-Marqui RD, Michel CM, Lehmann D.
Low resolution electromagnetic tomography: a new method for localizing electrical activity in the brain. Int J Psychophysiol 1994, 18: 49-65.

[13] Pascual-Marqui RD, Esslen M, Kochi K, Lehmann D:
Functional imaging with low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (loreta): A review. Methods Find Exp Clin Pharmacol 2002; 24 Suppl C:91-95.

[14] Roth B.
The clinical and theoretical importance of EEG rhythms corresponding to states of lowered vigilance. Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol 1961; 13: 395-9.

[15] Small JG, Milstein V, Malloy FW, Medlock CE, Klapper MH.
Clinical and quantitative EEG studies of mania. J Affect Disord 1999; 53: 217-24.

[16] Strijkstra AM, Beersma DG, Drayer B, Halbesma N, Daan S.
Subjective sleepiness correlates negatively with global alpha (8-12 Hz) and positively with central frontal theta (4-8 Hz) frequencies in the human resting awake electroencephalogram. Neurosci Lett 2003; 340: 17-20.

[17] Tagliazucchi E, Laufs H.
Decoding wakefulness levels from typical fMRI resting-state data reveals reliable drifts between wakefulness and sleep. Neuron 2004, 82: 695-708.

[18] Tsuno N, Shigeta M, Hyoki K, Kinoshita T, Ushijima S, Faber PL, Lehmann D.
Spatial organization of EEG activity from alertness to sleep stage 2 in old and younger subjects. J Sleep Res 2002; 11: 43-51.

[19] Ulrich G, Furstenberg U.
Quantitative assessment of dynamic electroencephalogram (EEG) organization as a tool for subtyping depressive syndromes. Eur Psychiatry 1999; 14: 217-29.