ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the state of the art regarding the potential use of quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG)–based biomarkers in depression. It presents the state of art of using EEG as a biomarker in depression. Depression is a multifactorial mental health disorder that is influenced by various social and clinical factors, including childhood parental relations, trauma, gender, age, social status, together with biological factors, such as genetic vulnerability and impairments in biological stress regulation. Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that abnormalities in connectivity may help to understand underlying pathological dysfunction of depression and to determine the optimal treatment options. One possible tool that could have potential as a biomarker in depression and other mental health disorders is qEEG. Taken as a whole, the findings discussed suggest that in order to eliminate the inconsistencies across studies, it is crucial to standardize recording condition, preprocessing, and data analysis in order to use EEG connectivity as a reliable biomarker.
