title: Cortical evoked potentials and clinical rating scales as measures of depressive illness.
abstract: Relationships between clinical ratings and cortical evoked potentials were examined before and during antidepressant drug treatment in 32 patients with major depressive disorder (DSM-III). Clinical rating scales included Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression, Beck Depression Inventory, Present State Examination (PSE) and Newcastle Scale. Evoked potentials included contingent negative variation (CNV), post-imperative negative variation (PINV) and auditory evoked potential (AEP) There were close correlations between all rating scales, and factor analysis produced only one component, suggesting that the common variance between them related to severity of depression. CNV magnitude before treatment correlated negatively with severity of depression regardless of diagnostic category. Depressed patients had a prominent PINV which persisted during antidepressant treatment. The amplitude of late components (N1P2) of the AEP was reduced strikingly in patients with a history of suicide attempts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacological Sciences, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ashton
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Golding
authors.forename: V R
authors.initials: VR
authors.lastname: Marsh
authors.forename: J W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hassanyeh
authors.forename: S P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Tyrer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001143:Arousal / Q000187:drug effects*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects*; D003265:Contingent Negative Variation / Q000187:drug effects; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000523:psychology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011581:Psychological Tests; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents