title: Electroencephalographic findings in patients with major depressive disorder during cognitive or emotional tasks: a systematic review.
abstract: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a prevalent psychiatric condition characterized by multiple symptoms that cause great distress. Uncovering the brain areas involved in MDD is essential for improving therapeutic strategies and predicting response to interventions. This systematic review discusses recent findings regarding cortical alterations in depressed patients during emotional or cognitive tasks, as measured by electroencephalography (EEG).
  A search of the MEDLINE/PubMed and Cochrane databases was carried out using the keywords EEG and depression, confined to article title.
  The studies identified reveal the frontal cortex as an important brain structure involved in the complex neural processes associated with MDD. Findings point to disorganization of right-hemisphere activity and deficient cognitive processing in MDD. Depressed individuals tend to ruminate on negative information and respond with a pattern of relatively higher right frontal activity to emotional stimuli associated with withdrawal and isolation.
  Patients with MDD may have altered dynamic patterns of activity in several neuroanatomical structures, especially in prefrontal and limbic areas involved in affective regulation. Identification of these alterations might help predict the response of patients to different interventions more effectively and thus maximize the effects both of pharmacotherapeutic and of psychotherapeutic strategies.
authors: Unidade de Psicologia do Coaching, Unidade de Neurobiologia Translacional, Laboratório de Pânico e Respiração, Instituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: Sabrina B
authors: SB
authors: de Freitas
authors: Unidade de Psicologia do Coaching, Unidade de Neurobiologia Translacional, Laboratório de Pânico e Respiração, Instituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: Alessandra A
authors: AA
authors: Marques
authors: Unidade de Psicologia do Coaching, Unidade de Neurobiologia Translacional, Laboratório de Pânico e Respiração, Instituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: Mário C
authors: MC
authors: Bevilaqua
authors: Unidade de Psicologia do Coaching, Unidade de Neurobiologia Translacional, Laboratório de Pânico e Respiração, Instituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.|Departamento de Psicologia Clínica, Instituto de Psiquiatria, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: Marcele Regine
authors: MR
authors: de Carvalho
authors: Laboratório de Mapeamento Cerebral e Integração Sensório-Motora, Instituto de Psiquiatria, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: Pedro
authors: P
authors: Ribeiro
authors: Unidade de Psicologia do Coaching, Laboratório de Pânico e Respiração, Instituto de Psiquiatria, UFRJ, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.|Coaching Psychology Unit, City University, London, United Kingdom.
authors: Stephen
authors: S
authors: Palmer
authors: Unidade de Psicologia do Coaching, Unidade de Neurobiologia Translacional, Laboratório de Pânico e Respiração, Instituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: Antonio E
authors: AE
authors: Nardi
authors: Unidade de Psicologia do Coaching, Unidade de Neurobiologia Translacional, Laboratório de Pânico e Respiração, Instituto de Psiquiatria, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors: Gisele P
authors: GP
authors: Dias
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans