Effect of aerobic training on EEG alpha asymmetry and depressive symptoms in the elderly: a 1-year follow-up study

The effect of physical exercise on the treatment of depressive elderly adults has not been investigated thus far in terms of changes in cortical hemispheric activity. The objective of the present study was to identify changes in depressive symptoms, quality of life, and cortical asymmetry produced by aerobic activity. Elderly subjects with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder (DSM-IV) were included. Twenty patients (70 percent females, 71 ± 3 years) were divided into an exercise group (pharmacological treatment plus aerobic training) and a control group (undergoing pharmacological treatment) in a quasi-experimental design. Pharmacological treatment was maintained stable throughout the study (antidepressants and anxiolytics). Subjects were evaluated by depression scales (Beck Depression Inventory, Hamilton Depression Rating Scale, Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale) and the Short Form Health Survey-36, and electroencephalographic measurements (frontal and parietal alpha asymmetry) before and after 1 year of treatment. After 1 year, the control group showed a decrease in cortical activity on the right hemisphere (increase of alpha power), which was not observed in the exercise group. The exercise group showed a significant decrease of depressive symptoms, which was not observed in the control group. This result was also accompanied by improved treatment response and remission rate after 1 year of aerobic exercise associated with treatment. This study provides support for the effect of aerobic training on alpha activity and on depressive symptoms in elderly patients. Exercise facilitates the treatment of depressive elderly adults, leading to clinical and physical improvement and protecting against a decrease in cortical activity.

Açäo dos novos antipsicóticos sobre o humor em esquizofrênicos / Action of the new antipsychotic drugs on humor in schizophrenic patients

O autor faz uma breve revisao da açao dos novos antipsicóticos sobre o humor em pacientes esquizofrênicos, com base em seus mecanismos de açao ao nível sináptico. Aponta, também, para o diagnóstico diferencial entre depressao, de um lado, e sintomas negativos e distúrbios extrapiramidais, de outro.

Aplicaçäo clínica do mapeamento cerebral no domínio do tempo / Clinical application of brain mapping in Time Domain

O autor descreve as vantagens do Mapeamento Cerebral, no Domínio do Tempo, das Epilepsias em comparaçäo com o Método da Eletroencefalografia Convencional.

Epilepsia focal benigna da infância com pontas centro-temporal: contribuiçäo da eletroencefalografia quantitativa (mapeamento cerebral) / Benign focal epilepsy of childhood with centro-temporal spikes: contribution of electroencefalography quantitative (brain mapping)

O autor revisa e exemplifica parâmetros da Eletroencefalografia Quatitativa (Mapeamento da Atividade Elétrica Cerebral) sugestivos para o diagnóstico de Epilepsia Rolândica Benigna (Epilepsia Focal Benigna da Infância com Pontas Centro-Temporal).