CHANGES IN AUDITORY P300 IN PATIENTS WITH MAJOR DEPRESSION AND SILENTCEREBRAL INFARCTION

We examined event-related potentials in patients with senile depressio n and silent cerebral infarction (SCI) to clarify the features of the P300 component, P300 event-related potentials were recorded in drug-fr ee depressed patients (N = 16) and normal controls (N = 17). All patie nts underwent magnetic resonance imaging and were classified as SCI-po sitive (N = 7) or SCI-negative (N = 9), In depressed patients, the P30 0 was reexamined after antidepressant treatment. Prior to treatment, P 300 amplitudes in depressed patients were significantly smaller than t hose in normal controls (P <0.01). P300 amplitudes increased significa ntly in SCI-negative patients following recovery (P < 0.05), but did n ot change in SCI-positive patients. SCI may interrupt the treatment-re lated P300 amplitude increase in depressed patients. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.