Do Tricyclic Responders Have Different Brain Laterality?

Jonathan W. Stewart, Frederic M. Quitkin, Patrick J. McGrath, and Gerard E. Bruder

New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University

Abstract

A previous study showed that depressed patients who improved with tricyclic antidepressant medication had dichotic complex tones test results suggesting right-hemispheric dysfunction relative to nonresponders and controls (G.E. Bruder et al., 1990). A new sample of 68 depressed patients completed dichotic consonant-vowel (CV) and complex tones (CT) tests and then were treated with imipramine or placebo. A significant Ear X Test X Treatment X Response interaction was accounted for by significantly poorer left-ear accuracy for CVs among imipramine responders compared with nonresponders, placebo responders, and controls. CV left-ear accuracy was also significantly greater among placebo responders than placebo responders than placebo nonresponders and controls. The results only partially replicate the prior study in that evidence of right-hemisphere dysfunction in tricyclic responders was seen for the CV test but not the CT test.