Table 3.
Electroencephalography (EEG) and Longitudinal Changes in ECT.
| Author (Year) | n Diagnosis Mean Age (SD) Male/Female Ratio of Responders/Total Medication Status |
Stimulus Delivery Stimulus Waveform Stimulus Intensity (When Reported) Number ECT Sessions (SD) |
Time From ECT Series to Post-ECT Imaging Assessment HC Group: Yes/No |
Image Analysis | Longitudinal Neuroimaging Results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quantitative EEG | |||||
| McCormick et al35 (2009) | 17 MDD with psychotic features 46 years (10) 7 male/10 female 15/17 responders Patients remained on medications |
9 RUL/8 bitemporal (at completion of ECT series) Brief pulse Seizure threshold, RUL 6 × threshold; bitemporal 2.5 × threshold 12 treatments (7) |
14–21 days (range) HC: no |
Whole-brain qEEG; whole brain and ROI low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) | ECT time 1 vs time 2: qEEG revealed increased y band activity (4–7.5 Hz); whole-brain analysis with LORETA confirmed that the subgenual cingulate was the primary site of y activity; increased y activity in the subgenual cingulate was associated with percentage change in psychotic symptoms |
| Motor cortex excitability | |||||
| Casarotto et al36 (2013) | 8 MDD 52 years (7) 2 male/6 female Responders not specified, but 5/8 with 50% reduction in HDRS Patients remained on medication |
8 bitemporal Constant current pulses Seizure threshold, 2 × threshold 6 treatments (1) |
1 day HC: no | Transcranial magnetic stimulation-evoked potentials via an ROI analysis (6 neighboring EEG channels with the largest amplitude) | ECT time 1 vs time 2: The percentage reduction in HDRS was nonsignificantly correlated with the increased cortical activation |
Abbreviations: HC, healthy comparison; HDRS, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale; MDD, major depressive disorder; qEEG, quantitative EEG; ROI, region of interest; RUL, right unilateral.