QEEG related changes following the treatment of anxiety disorders: Case series

Abstract

Patients with anxiety spectrum disorders are a highly heterogeneous group, requiring new therapeutic strategies and individualized treatment monitoring. Today, there is a growing interest for implementing biological approaches to clinical practice in psychiatry. Quantitative EEG is an excellent tool in this regard, though it has been widely underestimated when compared to recent neuroimaging techniques. In this case series, we presented four cases with a different diagnosis of anxiety spectrum disorder and evaluated their qEEG changes before and after the treatment. In addition, we also calculated the so-called EEG cordance values as an index of cerebral perfusion and cingulate cortex activity. According to the results, there appears to be an increase in the frontal beta and theta band in our cases, which has responded to treatment. In regards to the cordance values, we found that there was a reduction in the prefrontal regions up to %38 percent following the treatment. Based on previous studies, this may also indirectly suggest reduction in the cingulate cortex activity. The possible implications of these findings were discussed. Taken together, this case series highlighted the potential use of qEEG power values, normative z-scores and cordance values in treatment response monitoring of anxiety spectrum disorders.

Quantitative electroencephalographic biomarker of pharmacological treatment response in patients with anxiety disorder: a retrospective study

“…To the best of our knowledge, no previous studies have evaluated the treatment response in patients with anxiety disorders using qEEG, although one case report reported a reduction in overall beta waves as treatment progressed in anxiety disorders 19 . Despite the limited number of studies on treatment response, many studies have explored the qEEG characteristics of anxiety disorders.…”

“…The patients were instructed to keep an eye on the " + " sign in the front of them when their eyes were open, to refrain from movement as much as possible, to remain in a state of not thinking about anything as much as possible, and to not fall asleep when the eyes were closed. EEG analysis was performed using the fast Fourier transforms (FFT) algorithm for each frequency band for each selected epoch: delta wave (1-4 Hz), theta wave (4-8 Hz), alpha wave (8-12 Hz), and beta wave (12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29)(30). Beta waves were subdivided into low-beta (12-15 Hz), beta (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25), and high-beta (25-30 Hz) 14 .…”

“…levels of local metabolic activity, particularly in the cortex 13 . These waves can be roughly divided into low-beta waves (12)(13)(14)(15), beta waves (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25), and high-beta waves (25-30 Hz) 14 . However, high-beta waves are particularly associated with individual fear, anxiety, and hyperarousal 12,15 .…”

State and Trait Anxiety Related Gamma Oscillations in Patients With Anxiety Within the Research Domain Criteria Framework

“…10,12 qEEG has also been applied in studies investigating disorders that are associated with anxiety, such as panic, posttraumatic stress (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disor-der (OCD). 9,13,14 For instance, studies have reported diminished alpha activity in anxiety disorder [15][16][17] and increased theta activity in OCD. 18,19 However, compared to other psychiatric disorders, the literature on qEEG and anxiety disorder is small and difficult to translate to the clinical setting due to the heterogeneity of symptoms among the disorders included in anxiety disorders.…”

State and trait anxiety related gamma oscillations in patients with anxiety within the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework

“…qEEG has also been applied in studies investigating disorders that are associated with anxiety, such as panic, posttraumatic stress (PTSD), and obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) [9,13,14]. For instance, studies have reported diminished alpha activity in anxiety disorder [15][16][17] and increased theta activity in OCD [18,19]. However, compared to other psychiatric disorders, the literature on qEEG and anxiety disorder is small and di cult to translate to the clinical setting [11] due to the heterogeneity of symptoms among the disorders included in anxiety disorders [20].…”