capability model of frontal EEG asymmetry (Coan et al., 2006), which suggests that brain activity during emotional challenge is a more powerful indicator of predispositions toward psychopathology than activity observed at rest. They assessed EEG during a resting baseline and a facial emotion task, and found that EEG asymmetry during emotional challenge was a more powerful indicator of major depression than resting asymmetry for average and linked mastoid references, thus supporting the capability model. Further, CSD-transformed asymmetry was indicative of lifetime depression status under resting and task-elicited conditions. These findings further suggest that CSD-transformed data are more robust indicators of trait frontal EEG asymmetry than spectra stemming from EEG potentials referenced to vertex, linked mastoids, or all recording sites (common average).
