Abstract

Research published in the past decade that used quantitative indices to evaluate the waking EEG characteristics of depressed patients is reviewed. Methodological problems that make results of different research laboratories difficult to compare include diagnostic heterogeneity of depressed groups, lack of inclusion of control subjects, and differences in the EEG techniques. Despite interpretive problems that arise from such substantial variation, consistencies nevertheless emerge. Unmedicated, actively depressed patients appear to exhibit elevated EEG alpha and beta compared to control subjects. Delta and theta distinguished depressed patients from controls in some single studies, but variation in age, specific diagnostic depression categories, and EEG acquisition and analysis techniques rendered these results less definitive. Quantitative EEG differences that may distinguish depressed subject samples from those with other psychiatric disorders are considered. Factors that limit comparability of the findings are discussed in conjunction with strategies that deserve systematic study in future research.