The role of physiological complexity changes in resting-state EEG in clinical effectiveness of rTMS and tDCS in treatments of resistant depression

The present literature about possible mechanisms behind the effectivity of noninvasive electromagnetic stimulation in major depressive disorder (MDD) is not very rich. Despite extensive research in applications for clinical practice, the exact effects are yet not clear. We are comparing our previous results about the complexity changes induced by repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS), and transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) which are known to modulate neural dynamics. Also, we are reviewing different biomarkers of complexity changes connected to depression, and how they change with the stimulation. TDCS is low-intensity TES, known to have polarity specific effects (neuromodulatory effects), and rTMS is inducing an electric field in the tissue circumstantially via Faraday’s law. Both nonlinear modalities of electromagnetic stimulation may affect the levels of physiological complexity in the brain. We also compare the changes of complexity in electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrocardiogram (ECG), as potential future predictors of therapy outcome.