Both knowledge and practice are needed to build up mental health: a preliminary EEG study on the effectiveness of awareness training program (ATP)

Abstract

Introduction: Individuals with high mental stress or even depression are advised to change their cognitive model to deal with problem, while other times behavior techniques can be quite helpful. We assume that both are needed to be substantially helpful. The ATP training is a mental exercise helping subjects to deal with mental stress. General health questionnaire (GHQ) is used to measure the general mental health level, and lower GHQ indicates better mental health. In this study, (i) behavioral measurements of GHQ, and (ii) high-resolution (128 channel) electroencephalograph (EEG) are used to study the mental state after participation in ATP. Method: Totally 110 participants were recruited. 53 participants were in ATP group, and the rest 56 makes up the waiting-list control. GHQ scores were measured before and after ATP training. We further separated the each group into two subgroups, those with high GHQ and low GHQ (15 participants each). Thus we have 4 subgroups for comparison, i.e., Control_low_GHQ subgroup, Control_high_GHQ subgroup, ATP_low_GHQ subgroup, ATP_high_GHQ subgroup. The EEG data were analyzed by EEGlab. Results: As compared to their counterparts, the ATP_high_GHQ subgroup had lower (-7.33, improved) GHQ score after training (p = 0.00007). However, ATP_low_GHQ subgroup had little progress in GHQ score, but they had higher level of alpha-wave activity. The region of interest (ROI) of occipital lobe was selected for comparison on EEG alpha power. The mean powers of Control_low_GHQ subgroup and ATP_low_GHQ subgroup are 43.0 dB and 90.2 dB, respectively. P = 0. 306. Figure1. EEG map of ATP_low_GHQ subgroup and Control_low_GHQ subgroup lowest; The right map shows their subgroup difference, with each dot representing a channel with significant difference between two groups. p < 0.05. Conclusion: This study indicates that ATP can affect the mental states of participants, but mainly those with higher mental health level. Details will be presented during presentation.