EEG ALTERATIONS IN PSYCHOGENIC DEPRESSION S

From 18 psychogenic depressed patients closed-eye-EEG's were registere d at 8.00 a.m., 12.00 noon, 4.00 p.m., and 8.00 p.m., and recorded on tape for computer processing. Simultaneously each time the body temper ature was measured. All 18 patients were treated with low doses of ant idepressants, but from 11 of them EEG's additional were registered wit hout medication. For comparison served corresponding data of 12 health y volunteers and 10 persons suffering from endogenous depression. Peak -frequencies of the investigated patients are lower, but body temperat ures higher than in the healthy volunteers, whereas in the persons wit h endogenous depression as well peak-frequencies as temperatures are l owered. The variations of peak-frequency and temperature in the course of the day are flattened in the investigated patients, but less than in those with endogenous depression.In particular, during the psychoph armacotherapy the variations of temperature and peak-frequency in the course of the day take another turn than in the healthy volunteers. Be sides, in the investigated patients, mainly without medication, at the parietal and the temporal positions alpha-band-power and peak-power o f the right hemisphere exceed those of the left. The low dose antidepr essant therapy, apart from an increase of beta-band-power, does not le ad to an appreciable alteration of EEG-parameters.