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Eeg Features of Depressive and Schizophrenic States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2018

D. F. Scott  and
Martin S. Schwartz
D. F. Scott
Affiliation:
EEG Department, Section of Neurological Sciences, The London Hospital, Whitechapel, London, E1 1BB
Martin S. Schwartz
Affiliation:
EEG Department, Section of Neurological Sciences, The London Hospital, Whitechapel, London, E1 1BB
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Summary

25-year-old female patient with a psychotic illness lasting three months in which schizophrenia and depressive episodes occurred was studied by serial EEGs. These were coded, masked and rated in a set way without knowledge of the clinical state. It was found that the schizophrenic state was characterized by a decrease in the amount and poor organization of alpha activity, as well as the occurrence of paroxysmal phenomena in particular atypical spike and wave. In the depressive episode, alpha activity was prominent and only scanty paroxysmal features were seen. Using these criteria a series of EEGs from psychiatric patients were assessed ‘blind’ with a view to separating them into either a schizophrenic or a depressive category. This proved possible in 17 cases (9 depressive and 8 schizophrenic). In only two was the categorization completely misjudged. These results suggest that further detailed study of the EEG, possibly with computer analysis, combined with assessment of the behavioural state might not only yield useful diagnostic information but also lead to a better understanding of the underlying neurophysiological basis of certain mental disorders.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 126 , Issue 5 , May 1975 , pp. 408 - 413
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1975 

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