A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF THE ELECTROENCEPHALO-GRAPHIC AROUSAL RESPONSE IN DEPRESSED PATIENTS

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was the exploration of certain relationships between characteristics of the EEG arousal response and aspects of the attentional process. Accordingly, the occurrence, latency and duration of the EEG arousal response were recorded in 11 depressed subjects during their illness and upon recovery. Eight of the 11 showed more frequent arousal upon recovery, whereas latency was unchanged, and the average duration of the arousal response was foreshortened. These results seem consonant with the suppositions that, during depression, attentional threshold is higher and central integrative processes are slower than is usual with the patient. The findings also offer some support for the thesis that the occurrence and duration of the arousal response are respectively related to the threshold of alertness and the temporal span of the orienting process.