Brain wave measurements predict response to antidepressants

October 26, 2016
A person undergoes an electroencephalogram in this stock image. UCLA researchers say an electroencephalogram performed in a doctor's office can quickly show whether an individual is responding favorably to an antidepressant.
A person undergoes an electroencephalogram in this stock image. UCLA researchers say an electroencephalogram performed in a doctor’s office can quickly show whether an individual is responding favorably to an antidepressant.
iStock.com/Latsalomao

Researchers at Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA have discovered a noninvasive way to predict which individuals will respond favorably to antidepressant treatments using brain wave recordings. Frontline antidepressant medications are ineffective for many patients, but it can take weeks for patients to identify symptom improvement. Dr. Andrew Leuchter, senior author and professor of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, has discovered distinctions between the brain wave recordings of individuals that will enter remission and individuals that will continue to experience symptoms after prolonged antidepressant use.

Read more at UCLA Newsroom