A study of intensity dependence of the auditory evoked potential (IDAEP) in medicated melancholic and non-melancholic depression.
BACKGROUND
Major Depressive Disorder is widely recognised to be a heterogeneous syndrome with numerous depressive phenotypes, one of which is melancholic depression. Patients with melancholic depression exhibit treatment responses and outcomes that differ from patients with non-melancholic depression. The current study aimed to assess whether differences existed between melancholic and non-melancholic subtypes of depression, as measured by the event related potential, intensity dependence of the auditory evoked potential (IDAEP).


METHODS
IDAEP was assessed in 14 melancholic and 13 non-melancholic depressed subjects and 14 controls.


RESULTS
The melancholic patients had a significantly shallower IDAEP slope than the non-melancholic patients not explained by depression severity or age.


CONCLUSIONS
Antidepressants were taken by all patients in this study and the effect of continual use of these drugs on the IDAEP slopes has yet to be confirmed.


CONCLUSIONS
These results provide support for neurobiological differences between melancholic and non-melancholic depressive subtypes. Melancholic depression may be characterized by ongoing over function of the serotonin system in spite of medication treatment.
Fitzgerald
Paul B
PB
Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre (APRC), The Alfred and Monash University School of Psychology, Psychiatry and Psychological Medicine, VIC, 3004, Melbourne, Australia. p.fitzgerald@alfred.org.au
Mellow
Tessa B
TB
Hoy
Kate E
KE
Segrave
Rebecca
R
Cooper
Nicholas R
NR
Upton
Daniel J
DJ
Croft
Rodney J
RJ
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects*; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008144:Loudness Perception / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D012016:Reference Values; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D055815:Young Adult
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D011985:Receptors, Serotonin