Abstract
(1) Background: Prediction of treatment outcome has been one of the core objectives in clinical research of patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study explored the possibility of event-related potential (ERP) markers to predict antidepressant treatment outcomes among MDD patients; (2) Methods: Fifty-two patients with MDD were recruited and evaluated through Hamilton depression (HAM-D), Hamilton anxiety rating scale (HAM-A), and CORE. Patients underwent a battery of ERP measures including frontal alpha symmetry (FAA) in the low alpha band (8–10 Hz), mismatch negativity (MMN), and loudness-dependent auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP); (3) Results: During the eight weeks of study, 61% of patients achieved remission, and 77% showed successful treatment responsiveness. Patients with low FAA in F5/F6 demonstrated a significantly higher remission/response ratio and better treatment responsiveness (F (2.560, 117.755) = 3.84, p = 0.016) compared to patients with high FAA. In addition, greater FAA in F7/F8 EEG channels was significantly associated with greater melancholia scores (r = 0.34, p = 0.018). Other ERP markers lacked any significant effect; (4) Conclusions: Our results suggested low FAA (i.e., greater left frontal activity) could reflect a good treatment response in MDD patients. These findings support that FAA could be a promising index in understanding both MDD and melancholic subtype.
Highlights
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders that presents a variety of chronic and recurring psychosocial hardships, which may even lead to one’s death [1,2]
The present study aimed to identify and evaluate possible EEG indices such as frontal alpha symmetry (FAA), mismatch negativity (MMN), and loudness-dependent auditory evoked potentials (LDAEP), along withaimed the MEL
The findings in the present study provide further evidence that FAA may be a reliable event-related potential (ERP) biomarker for MDD treatment outcomes in terms of remission status
Summary
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the most prevalent psychological disorders that presents a variety of chronic and recurring psychosocial hardships, which may even lead to one’s death [1,2]. Depression presents a range of heterogenetic features in neurobiology, etiology, and symptomatology. Studies related to suicide in MDD have suggested that suicidal patients differ from non-suicidal patients in many symptomatic structures, where depressed patients with suicidal ideation are characterized by a negative or pessimistic cognitive structure for the future (i.e., hopelessness) [6]. In their recent comprehensive review, Orsolini et al [7] reported that suicide in MDD involves highly complicated mechanisms of both genetics and epigenetics.
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