CET- REM (Correlating ECT Response to EEG Markers)

Correlating Electroconvulsive Therapy Response to Electroencephalographic Ictal Complexes and Postictal Markers

Single-center study to determine the relationship between changes in depression symptoms and electroencephalographic (EEG) patterns induced by electroconvulsive therapy (ECT)

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Treatment Resistant Depression; ECT
• Intervention / Treatment: Diagnostic test: Electroencephalographic (EEG); Diagnostic test: Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report (QIDS-SR16); Diagnostic test: Ictal Electroencephalographic (EEG) Measurements; Diagnostic test: Post-Ictal Electroencephalographic (EEG) Suppression Measurements

Detailed Description

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment for many psychiatric illnesses, including major depressive disorder. While effective, objective markers have not been developed to predict clinical outcome trajectories following ECT. This is important given the risks and costs incurred during a full treatment course. Electroencephalography (EEG) is typically employed to monitor the generation and termination of ECT-induced seizures but leverage of markers toward prognostication remains a future goal. The investigators have characterized two distinct EEG patterns associated with ECT-induced generalized seizures and have two sleep markers that may serve as markers for predicting response to treatment. Central Positive Complexes (CPCs) are large ictal complexes with a scalp topology of voltage declining from the top of the head. CPCs are localized to cortical areas that are involved in the formation of sleep spindles and slow wave sleep. A pattern of low-voltage activity, known as post-ictal generalized electroencephalographic suppression (PGES), is frequently used to document termination of these seizures. Additionally, two EEG markers of sleep microstructure may have utility given their association with synaptic plasticity, a process presumably invoked over the course of ECT-induced recovery from psychiatric illness as pathologic neural circuitry undergoes reconfiguration. These two markers, sleep spindles and slow waves show altered expression patterns in patients with psychiatric disorders, and thus may be useful as objective markers of ECT responsiveness. None of the above EEG markers have been explored for an association to interval changes in disease severity over the course of ECT. This project will incisively probe the relationships between temporal trajectories of major depressive disorder severity and longitudinal measurements of ictal and postictal EEG markers.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 31
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Missouri
    • St Louis, Missouri, United States, 63110
      • Washington University School of Medicine/Barnes-Jewish Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18 years or greater
• Referral for ECT index course for treatment-resistant depression (unipolar major depressive disorder or bipolar depression), major depressive disorder with psychotic symptoms, schizophrenia or schizoaffective being treated for a depressed episode, unspecified depression

Exclusion Criteria:

• Schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder not being treated for a depressed episode.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Diagnostic
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Patients with Treatment-Resistant Depression

Diagnostic test: Electroencephalographic (EEG); EEG on nights after ECT session will be recorded using the DREEM device. Sleep EEG data will also be acquired for a minimum of one night prior to the first ECT session, providing a true baseline measure. The DREEM device allows continuous recording of multichannel EEG; Diagnostic test: Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report (QIDS-SR16); The Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-Self Report (QIDS-SR16) is a measure of depression symptom severity that has been validated for clinical and research use53. It is a standard self-report measurement completed by patients prior to each ECT session; Diagnostic test: Ictal Electroencephalographic (EEG) Measurements; A high-density 65-electrode EEG scalp electrode net (EGI/Philips) with Elefix conductive gel injected within Ag/AgCl electrode sensors is utilized to monitor brain activity during the ictal period; Diagnostic test: Post-Ictal Electroencephalographic (EEG) Suppression Measurements; A board-certified epileptologist will review all seizures to assess seizure parameters, including duration of seizure and interval of PGES. Preprocessing of the PGES periods will be accomplished with band-pass filtering from 2 to 30 Hz with 1st order Butterworth filters.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Interval change in Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology-16 Item Self Report (QIDS-SR16) between ECT sessions.	16 item Self-report questionnaire that best describes the participant's depressive symptoms over the last seven days. Scale: 0=never or do not, 3=nearly all the time, or the highest level of time listed on the question.	Up to 8 weeks during patients ECT treatment course
Duration of Central Positive Complexes during ECT treatments.	Total time (in seconds) during the ictal period for which CPCs are present in the EEG immediately following seizure induction until termination of the seizure. Range of values: 0 - 300 seconds	Up to 8 weeks during patients ECT treatment course
Duration of PGES during ECT treatments.	Total time (in seconds) during the postictal period for which PGES is present in the EEG immediately following seizure termination for up to 5 minutes. Range of values: 0 - 300 seconds	Up to 8 weeks during patients ECT treatment course
Density of EEG sleep spindles during non-rapid eye movement (NREM) stages N2 on evenings following ECT treatments.	The total number of EEG sleep spindles per minute present during N2 sleep. Range of values: 0 - 60 spindles/min	Up to 8 weeks during patients ECT treatment course
Slow wave activity (SWA) during N3 sleep on evenings following ECT treatments	Total power of EEG slow waves per minute present during the first identified cycle of N3 sleep Range of values: 0 - 50 dB/min	Up to 8 weeks during patients ECT treatment course

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Washington University School of Medicine
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: MohammadMehdi Kafashan, Washington University School Of Medicine

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Lopez J, Hoffmann R, Armitage R. Reduced sleep spindle activity in early-onset and elevated risk for depression. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2010 Sep;49(9):934-43. doi: 10.1016/j.jaac.2010.05.014. Epub 2010 Jul 24.
• Kho KH, van Vreeswijk MF, Simpson S, Zwinderman AH. A meta-analysis of electroconvulsive therapy efficacy in depression. J ECT. 2003 Sep;19(3):139-47. doi: 10.1097/00124509-200309000-00005.
• Kafashan M, Brian Hickman L, Labonte AK, Huels ER, Maybrier H, Guay CS, Subramanian S, Farber NB, Ching S, Hogan RE, Kelz MB, Avidan MS, Mashour GA, Palanca BJA. Quiescence during burst suppression and postictal generalized EEG suppression are distinct patterns of activity. Clin Neurophysiol. 2022 Oct;142:125-132. doi: 10.1016/j.clinph.2022.07.493. Epub 2022 Jul 30.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 9, 2020
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 24, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 26, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): June 30, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 31, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 23, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Mood Disorders; Depressive Disorder; Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant; Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures; Diagnosis; Diagnostic Techniques, Neurological; Electrodiagnosis; Electroencephalography
• Other Study ID Numbers: 202006108

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No