EEG Correlates of Anxiety in Depressive Patients

In order to clarify EEG correlates and features of neurophysiological mechanisms of anxiety in depressive patients, EEG spectral parameters and their relationships with quantitative clinical and psychological parameters were analyzed before the start of the course of therapy in 40 female patients aged 16–25 years with depressive disorders, divided into 2 subgroups with different severity of anxiety symptoms. The subgroup of patients with a greater severity of anxiety spectrum disorders is characterized by a greater overall severity of the clinical and psychological state, which is associated with EEG signs of increased activation in the frontotemporal and occipital regions of the cerebral cortex. The data emphasize the important role of increased activation of brain cortex in the manifestation of anxiety spectrum disorders in the clinical picture of depression and, in the future, can be used to clarify the individual prognosis and optimize the treatment of depression.