Predictors of Therapeutic Response to Treatments for Depression: A Review of Electrophysiologic and Dichotic Listening Studies

Gerard E. Bruder, PhD, Craig E. Tenke, PhD, Jonathan W. Stewart, MD, Patrick J. McGrath, MD & Frederic M. Quitkin, MD

Abstract

There are few clinical or biological predictors of response to treatments for depression. This article reviews growing evidence that electrophysiologic and neurocognitive measures of brain function may be of value as predictors of therapeutic response to antidepressants. Initial studies using dichotic listening, quantitative EEG, or event-related brain potential measures have found differences between treatment responsive and nonresponsive subgroups of depressed patients. The neurophysiologic basis for these differences and the potential clinical utility of electrophysiologic and dichotic predictors of treatment outcome remains to be determined in future studies.