Seizure (Ictal)--EEG characteristics in subgroups of depressive disorder in patients receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)--a preliminary study and multivariate approach.
OBJECTIVE
Examine frequency distributions of ictal EEG after ECT stimulation in diagnostic subgroups of depression.


METHODS
EEG registration was consecutively monitored in 33 patients after ECT stimulation. Patients were diagnosed according to DSM IV and subdivided into: (1) major depressive disorder with psychotic features (n = 7), (2) unipolar depression (n = 20), and (3) bipolar depression (n = 6).


RESULTS
Results indicate that the diagnostically subgroups differ in their ictal EEG frequency spectrumml: (1) psychotic depression has a high occurrence of delta and theta waves, (2) unipolar depression has high occurrence of delta, theta and gamma waves, and (3) bipolar depression has a high occurrence of gamma waves. A linear discriminant function separated the three clinical groups with an accuracy of 94%.


CONCLUSIONS
Psychotic depressed patients differ from bipolar depression in their frequency based on probability distribution of ictal EEG. Psychotic depressed patients show more prominent slowing of EEG than nonpsychotic depressed patients. Thus the EEG results may be supportive in classifying subgroups of depression already at the start of the ECT treatment.
Wahlund
Björn
B
Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Psychiatry, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Huddinge, 141 86 Stockholm, Sweden. bwah@telia.com
Piazza
Paolo
P
von Rosen
Dietrich
D
Liberg
Benny
B
Liljenström
Hans
H