Quantitative Electroencephalogram (QEEG) Predictors of Response to Psychotherapy Versus Antidepressant Treatment in Depression

Major Depressive Disorder Clinical Trial

Official title: QEEG Predictors of Response for Psychotherapy Compared to Pharmacotherapy in Depression

Status Completed

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this research study is to find out if a test can predict whether someone with depression will get better with treatment. We also want to find out whether there are changes in the brains of depressed patients having different types of treatment (drug therapy vs. talk therapy). We hope that a test called QEEG (Quantitative Electroencephalogram) can tell us if a treatment is going to work, even before the person starts to feel better.

Hypothesis 1: Response to treatment will correlate with changes in QEEG metrics.

Hypothesis 2: QEEG parameters, different from those that predict response to pharmacotherapy, will be associated with response to CBT.

Clinical Trial Description

To our knowledge, QEEG has not been studied in the prediction of response to CBT, an important and widely used non-pharmacologic approach to treating depression. Establishing QEEG technology as a predictor of response to CBT could help to guide treatment selection for individual patients. It is probable that certain patient populations are more likely to respond to either psychotherapeutic or psychopharmacological interventions, while others may benefit from a combination of treatment modalities. This study will provide preliminary information about the utility of QEEG as a predictor of response in psychotherapy and will furnish the knowledge base of QEEG changes related to clinical variables, providing pilot data for a study in a larger sample. We have hypothesized that clinical response will correlate with changes in QEEG metrics from beginning to two weeks after treatment, and that QEEG parameters, different from those that predict response to pharmacotherapy, will be associated with response to CBT. ;

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Depression
• Depressive Disorder
• Depressive Disorder, Major
• Major Depressive Disorder

• NCT number: NCT00824044
• Study type: Interventional
• Source: Massachusetts General Hospital
• Status: Completed
• Phase: Phase 4
• Start date: July 2008
• Completion date: March 2011