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ISRN Psychiatry
Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 596486, 8 pages
doi:10.5402/2012/596486
Clozapine Augments Delta, Theta, and Right Frontal EEG Alpha Power in Schizophrenic Patients
1Department of Psychiatry, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4L8, Canada
2St. Joseph's Mountain Healthcare Services, 100 West 5th Street, Hamilton, ON, L8N 3K7, Canada
3Department of Medicine, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, K7L 4Z4, Canada
4QEEG Assessment Services Inc., Thornhill, ON, L3T 4Z4, Canada
5Department of Psychiatry, Queen's University, Kingston, ON, K7L 4Z4, Canada
Received 11 January 2012; Accepted 30 January 2012
Academic Editors: C. M. Beasley and R. Yoshimura
Copyright © 2012 D. MacCrimmon et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Objective. To explore the Quantitative EEG (QEEG) effects of established clozapine therapy regimes compared to those of previous ineffective antipsychotic regimes among 64 chronic (DSM-IV) schizophrenic patients. Methods. Data from 20 EEG channels referenced to linked ears were collected before and during maintenance clozapine therapy (mean duration 1.4 years). Absolute power was calculated in six frequency bands: delta (0.4–3.6 Hz), theta (4.2–7.8 Hz), alpha (8.2–11.8 Hz), beta1 (12.2–15.8 Hz), beta2 (16.2–19.8 Hz), and beta3 (20.2–23.8 Hz). Results. Clozapine augments power globally in the delta and theta bands, but this effect is more pronounced over frontal areas. Beta3 power was reduced. Alpha showed a frontal increase, more pronounced in the right, coupled with a posterior decrease with no net change in overall power. Conclusion. The demonstration of a significant clozapine-induced alpha topographic shift frontally and to the right is a novel discovery that may serve to encourage further investigations of subcortical structures in attempts to better understand the diverse aetiologies and optimal treatments of the schizophrenias.