Altered EEG microstate dynamics in adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury at rest and following acute social exclusion.

Authors

Congcong Liu, Yajing Si, Yining Kou, Huili Xing, Xin Wu, Bin Shi, Liju Qian, Kun Li, Meng Zhang

Published in

Frontiers in psychiatry. Volume 17. Pages 1853860. Epub Jul 16, 2026.

Abstract

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent in adolescence, yet the fast dynamics of large-scale brain networks remain poorly understood. We aimed to characterize resting-state EEG microstate dynamics in a clinically recruited adolescent NSSI sample and to examine state-dependent changes following acute social exclusion.
Resting-state EEG was recorded in hospitalized, medicated adolescents with NSSI and in healthy controls (HCs). An NSSI subgroup then completed EEG assessments before and after either Cyberball-induced social exclusion or a non-stress control condition. Microstate parameters and transition probabilities were analyzed.
After multiple-comparison correction, the core baseline finding was robustly reduced microstate A duration in the NSSI group relative to HCs. In uncorrected exploratory analyses, additional differences included shorter durations of microstates B and F, higher occurrence of microstate D, and increased F→D transition probability. A multivariate pattern analysis suggested group-related information but must be interpreted cautiously given the modest sample size. Within the NSSI group, the exclusion group showed reduced microstate A expression and increased microstate D expression relative to the non-stress subgroup, with a broader transition shift toward microstate D. Several interaction effects survived correction.
In this medicated inpatient sample, resting-state microstate dynamics differed from HCs, most robustly in reduced microstate A duration, and reorganized after social exclusion. Specificity to NSSI remains uncertain given the absence of an MDD-only clinical-control group and healthy Cyberball comparison. These preliminary findings require replication in larger studies including medication-naive MDD-only, MDD+NSSI, and HC groups.

PMID:
42534782
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 31 Jul 2026.

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