A Control Study Of Visual Event-Related Potentials On The Treatment-resistant Depression(TRD) Patients And Not Treatment-resistant Depression(NTRD) Patients

Objective: To investigate wether there are some difference in visual Event-Related Potentials(ERPs) between treatment-resistant depression(TRD) patients and not treatment-resistant depression(NTRD) patients, and in ERPs changes with different emotional stimulating between depression patients and the normal subjects, and to compare the consistency of the changes in ERPs and neuropsychololgical tests on the depression patients with SSRI and SNRI antidepressant medicine , we search on two group visual ERPs and neuropsychololgical tests on the depression patients and the normal subjects.Method: 42 depression patients and 15 normal subjects were tested by two group Event-Related Potentials, Stroop Test, Verbal Fluency, Trail Making, Modified Version of Wisconsin Card Sorting Tests . Then the patients were treated according to the differernt groups. Following 6 weeks therapy, they were tested repeatly.Results:(1) The reaction time, N₁, P₂ , N₂, P₃ latency, Stroop Test and Trail Making Test time were longer, the judgment wrong numbers, WCST Test total and continued wrong numbers were more, the task accuracy, Verbal Fluency Test numbers and WCST Test categories were less, and N₂, P₃ amplitudes were lower in TRD patients than in normal subjects. (2) Before the treatment, N₂, P₃ latency, Stroop Test C time and Trail Making Test B time were longer in TRD patients than in NTRD patients. P₃ amplitude had the lower trend in TRD patients than in NTRD patients. (3) After the treatment, the reaction time , N₁, P₃ latency and Trail Making Test B time were longer, the judgment wrong numbers were more, the task accuracy, WCST Test total and continued wrong numbers and categories were less in TRD patients than in NTRD patients. N₂, P₃ amplitude had the lower trend in TRD patients than in NTRD patients.No significant differences were found in N₂ latency, Verbal Fluency, Trail Making Test A and Stroop Test time between two drpression patients groups. (4) The reaction time was longer and N₂, P₃ latency had longer trend in NTRD patients with emotional stimulates than that with neutral stimulates. N₂, P₃ latency were longer, P₃ amplitude and P1/N1 peak-to-peak amplitudes ratio were higher in TRD patients with emotional stimulates than with neutral stimulates. The longer P₃ latency was appeard on prefrontal and parietal regions mainly.(5) P₃ amplitude was lower in the NTRD patients with SNRI antidepressant than that with SSRI antidepressant.Conclusion: (1) The cognitive functions of depression patients are impaired. (2) Before the treatment, there are cognitive functions differences between TRD patients and NTRD patients. The lower efficiency and slower speed of the information disposal process in short-term memory in TRD patients than in NTRD patients. (3) After the treatment, the recovery of cognitive functions are worse in TRD patients than in NTRD patients. (4) The disfunction on prefrontal and parietal, and N1/P2 peak-to-peak amplitudes ratio in depression patients probably sugeest the reactivity to antidepressant. (5) The SNRI antidepressant maybe influence P₃ amplitude more than SSRI antidepressant.