Comprehensive Summary
This study, conducted by Hui et al., compared the electroencephalographs (EEG) of pediatric subjects with global developmental delay (GDD) and pediatric subjects with typical development (TD) to analyze the differences in brain functional connectivity patterns between the two groups. 60 children of each group were enrolled, and those with GDD were evaluated using the Gesell Developmental Schedule. Resting-state EEG was recorded for each subject, and correlation between the EEG of subjects with GDD and the GDS-derived cognitive developmental quotient was analyzed. To identify potential GDD markers, three support vector machine models were used for feature weight analysis. Higher functional connectivity was observed in the α, θ, and γ-bands in GDD patients compared to TD patients. Abnormal global and local connectivity were observed in GDD patients.
Outcomes and Implications
The findings of this study could potentially be applied to diagnosis of GDD, as well as serve as information for therapies for GDD patients. This study should be repeated with a larger sample, incorporate other models, and evaluated further for correlation in order for more specific, encompassing, and analyzable results that could be clinically applicable.