Clin Psychopharmacol Neurosci.  2021 May;19(2):323-333. 10.9758/cpn.2021.19.2.323.

Relationship Between the Loudness Dependence of the Auditory Evoked Potential and the Severity of Suicidal Ideation in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder

• Hwang M
• Lee YJ
• Lee M
• Kang B
• Lee YS
• Hwang J
• Woo Si
• Hahn SW

• KMID: 2516184
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.9758/cpn.2021.19.2.323

Abstract

Objective
The loudness dependence of the auditory evoked potential (LDAEP) is a reliable indicator that is inversely related to central serotonergic activity, and recent studies have suggested an association between LDAEP and suicidal ideation. This study investigated differences in LDAEP between patients with major depressive disorder and high suicidality and those with major depressive disorder and low suicidality compared to healthy controls.
Methods
This study included 67 participants: 23 patients with major depressive disorder with high suicidality (9 males, mean age 29.3 ± 15.7 years, total score of SSI-BECK ≥ 15), 22 patients with major depressive disorder with low suicidality (9 males, mean age 42.2 ± 14.4 years, total score of SSI-BECK ≤ 14), and 22 healthy controls (11 males, mean age 31.6 ± 8.7 years). Participants completed the following assessments: Patient Health Questionnaire-9, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Beck Scale for Suicidal ideation, State Anxiety Scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, Beck Anxiety Inventory, and LDAEP (measured at electrode Cz).
Results
There were no sex-related differences among groups (p = 0.821). The high-suicidality group exhibited significantly higher LDAEP compared to the low-suicidality group (0.82 ± 0.79 vs. 0.26 ± 0.36, p = 0.014). No significant differences were found between the control and high-suicidality (p = 0.281) or the control and low-suicidality groups (p = 0.236).
Conclusion
LDAEP was applied to demonstrate the association between serotonergic activity and suicidal ideation and suicide risk in major depression and may be a candidate of biological marker for preventing suicide in this study.

Keyword

Depression; Suicidal ideation; Suicide risk; Biomarkers; Auditory evoked potential; Loudness dependence of auditory evoked potentials