AI Summary & Key Takeaways
AI InsightThe P300 potential may be a useful tool to determine possible changes or impairments due to subthreshold depressive symptoms.
📌 3 Key Takeaways
Abstract
Background: Depression is common among elderly and middle aged individuals and is a reason for decreased quality of life. Depression may lead to impairments in cognitive abilities. The P300 potential is one of the most used event related potentials (ERPs) to evaluate cognition. This study investigated the P300 amplitude differences between individuals with depressive symptoms and nondepressed healthy elderly individuals. Materials and Methods: The current study included twenty individuals with high depression scores (high DS, age: 64.80 ± 7.22, 6 M/14 F) and twenty demographically matched participants with low depression scores (low DS, age: 64.20 ± 6.21, 7 M/13 F). The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used to evaluate whether participants have depressive symptoms. All of the participants were underwent a comprehensive neuropsychological battery. The ERPs were recorded with a visual classical oddball paradigm. The P300 amplitudes were measured in the 250–550 ms time window. Results: High DS group had lower P300 amplitudes than low DS individuals regardless of electrode location. Correlation analyses showed that there was a significant correlation between GDS scores and the P300 amplitudes recorded from the Fz electrode. Conclusion: The current study showed the reduced P300 amplitudes on individuals with high GDS scores. The P300 potential may be a useful tool to determine possible changes or impairments due to subthreshold depressive symptoms.