Event-related potential based evidence of cognitive dysfunction in patients during the first episode of depression using a novelty oddball task

lv, Jing; Zhao, Lun; Gong, Jingjing; Chen, Changsheng; Miao, Danmin

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2010.02.005

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 182, Issue 1 , Pages 58-66, 30 April 2010

Event-related potential based evidence of cognitive dysfunction in patients during the first episode of depression using a novelty oddball task

Jing lv
- Department of Psychology, General Hospital of People's Liberation Army, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shanxi, China
Lun Zhao
- Visual Art and Brain Cognition Lab., Beijing Shengkun Yanlun Ltd., Bejing, China
- Corresponding authors. Miao is to be contacted at Department of Psychology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, 710032, China. Tel./fax: +86 29 8477 4814. Zhao, Suite 12A, Bldg A, Zhi Ye Yuan, Shuguang Garden, Haidian District, Beijing 100089, China. Tel.: +86 10 88464497; fax: +86 10 88464496.
Jingjing Gong
- Department of neurology, Beijing District Hospital of PLA, Beijing, China
Changsheng Chen
- Department of Health Statistics, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, China
Danmin Miao
- Department of Psychology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi'an, Shanxi, China
- Corresponding authors. Miao is to be contacted at Department of Psychology, The Fourth Military Medical University, Xi’an, 710032, China. Tel./fax: +86 29 8477 4814. Zhao, Suite 12A, Bldg A, Zhi Ye Yuan, Shuguang Garden, Haidian District, Beijing 100089, China. Tel.: +86 10 88464497; fax: +86 10 88464496.

Received 18 August 2008; received in revised form 25 August 2009; accepted 26 August 2009.

Abstract

Studies using event-related potentials (ERP) to investigate cognitive dysfunction associated with depression have generated variable findings. The differences among reported results are typically attributed to the disparity of the samples. To eliminate the effects of factors such as medication and comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders, first-episode unmedicated patients suffering from depression were recruited in this study. Both depressed patients and matched controls performed an auditory novelty oddball task and ERPs were recorded. The depression group exhibited an increased P2 to standard tones. For the target tones, depressed subjects showed reduced N2 at anterior regions and reduced target P3 in the right hemisphere. In response to novel stimuli, there was a reduced amplitude of the novelty P3 component at the fronto-central region in depressed patients. Our findings suggest that patients with depression in the initial stages show an impaired ability in voluntary and involuntary attention and exhibit frontal lobe and right-hemisphere dysfunctions.

Keywords: Event-related potentials, Depression, Novelty, P3