ENDOGENOUS EVOKED-POTENTIALS ASSESSMENT IN DEPRESSION - A REVIEW

Over the past 15 years, researchers have shown an increasing interest in using event-related potentials (ERPs) to study depression. These st udies generally fall into four classes: 1), ERPs as a means of detecti ng depression; 2), ERPs as a tool for distinguishing subtypes of depre ssion; 3), ERPs as a measure of pharmacological effectiveness; 4), ERP s as indicators of defective cognitive operations in depressed subject s. Results from these heterogeneous approaches are often inconsistent and disappointing. Although some ERP components often show increased l atencies and diminished amplitudes, these changes seem to reflect prin cipally a variety of non-specific disorders affecting a wide range of cognitive functions rather than a precise and consistent deficit of a particular function. These disappointing results seem to be attributab le to methodological problems (heterogeneous patient populations, disp roportionate use of the odd-ball paradigm), and do not necessarily cal l into question the value of studying the ERPs. Furthermore, recent ad vances in ERP methodology have opened up new perspectives for ERP use in psychopathology.