QEEG Connectivity in Psychotic Depression With Catatonic Features: Case Report From Korea

 Out on PubMed, from an author in Korea, is this case report:

Alteration of Functional Connectivity before and after Electroconvulsive Therapy in a Single Patient with Depression and Catatonia.

Park YM.Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci. 2024 Aug 31;22(3):537-540. doi: 10.9758/cpn.23.1096. Epub 2023 Jul 12.PMID: 39069694

The abstract is copied below:

Catatonia, a severe neuropsychiatric condition, is distinguished by a range of prominent motor features such as immobility, mutism, negativism, rigidity, posturing, staring, stereotypy, automatic obedience, echolalia, and mannerism. A female patient of middle age was admitted to the open psychiatric ward of a hospital after exhibiting suicidal ideation, delusions, depression, insomnia, refusal to eat, difficulty in swallowing, and decreased motivation for four months prior to admission. Following 14 electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) sessions, her symptoms improved in the order of appetite, immobility, speech volume, mood, and delusions. The post-ECT functional connectivity was found to be improved compared to pre-ECT. The patient was discharged to outpatient clinics with medications that included aripiprazole, mirtazapine, quetiapine, and trazodone. This case reveals that ECT is an efficacious treatment in a depressive patient with catatonia, with movement symptoms responding to ECT more rapidly than affective symptoms. In addition to the improvement of movement and affective symptoms, functional connectivity much improved after ECT.

Keywords: Catatonia; EEG; Electroconvulsive therapy; Functional connectivity; Major depressive disorder.

The report is here.

And from the text:

This is a well-presented case report (minus the weird typo) of fairly typical psychotic depression responsive to ECT. Few details of the ECT course are given, but the QEEG figures are very pretty, and the mechanistic speculation is fanciful. The order of symptom improvement, something fairly well documented in the literature, is also interesting.

Kudos to Dr. Park.