ECSE Departmental Research Seminars on Wednesday 4th May 2005
Title: Frontal EEG Asymmetry & Electrovestibulography: Possible diagnosis techniques for depression?
Abstract:
Depression is a debilitating condition, which causes pain and
suffering for those afflicted, along with social and economic problems
for the broader community.
The term ‘depression’ is a broad umbrella term used to describe a
number of related conditions, whose symptoms include chronic sadness,
anxiety, insomnia, lethargy, and in extreme cases, suicidal
tendencies. Despite intensive research, the exact causes of depression
are not yet fully understood.
One of the problems with depression is a reliable diagnosis; current
diagnosis relies on administering a questionnaire (either verbal or
written); although intensive work has gone into the creation of these
questionnaires, they are, by their very nature, subjective and thus
prone to reliability problems.
If a reliable, objective diagnosis were developed it would be
extremely useful for better identifying people at risk of depression
(in particular, those for whom administration of a written or verbal
test is difficult e.g., those who also have a mental handicap), as
well as monitoring the efficacy of treatments, such as antidepressant
drugs.
The purpose of this project is to explore, test and attempt to improve
upon a technique which is thought to provide an objective assessment
of depression based on EEG recordings of frontal brain power
asymmetry. I will also investigate any possible relationship between
depression and signals obtained using a new diagnostic method called
electrovestibulography.
About the speaker:
Andrew J. Niemiec
Postgraduate Research Student
Diagnostic and Neurosignal Processing Research Group
Monash University, Australia
Main supervisor: Mr Brian Lithgow
Proposed Transfer: Doctor of Philosophy of Engineering Science in the
Field of Biomedical Engineering
Current Degree: Masters of Engineering Science in the field of
Biomedical Engineering
Previous Degrees: BSc/BE double degree in physiology and Electrical &
Computer systems engineering (majoring in biomedical engineering).
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