Quantitative Measures of the EEG and their Implications as a Diagnostic Adjunct for Depression

Recent EEG studies utilizing alpha band power density asymmetry to investigate differences between groups of pathological and normal individuals suggest that asymmetry may serve as a good discriminator between these two groups. Similar to previous studies, the present research attempted to investigate differences between depressed and normals using the alpha spectrum. Unlike previous studies, this research investigated differences between groups through examination within the alpha band rather than using the entire alpha band, while using very strict experimental controls. This analysis was conducted hoping to find differences between the two groups embedded inside the alpha spectrum that would otherwise be missed in an effort to increase the level of discrimination from that obtained with measures that examine the alpha band in its entirety or with presently existing physiological assessment measures. Previous results, using overall alpha band measures, were not replicated in this study. The results from this research revealed that the finer, within alpha, examination is capable of discriminating individuals in th~ depressed group better than existing measures but lacks the specificity necessary to serve as a diagnostic measure.Psycholog

The Flynn effect and its clinical implications

The Flynn effect is undoubtedly one of the most puzzling observations made during the last 30 years in the domain of human intelligence. In 1984, Flynn published an article in which he analyzed 73 U.S. studies (N total=7431) comparing the scores on several intelligence tests across time (Stanford-Binet Intelligence scales and Wechsler scales). All these studies compared the IQs obtained by a sample of individuals on each test and on the previous version of the same test, i.e., using norms collected in the U.S. population at two different points of time. These studies used 10 different norms, collected from 1932 to 1978. Several of Flynn’s questions are discussed in this chapter, bringing into focus the consequences of the FE on the clinical use of intelligence tests, especially the WISC-V