Application of QEEG in psychiatry taking into account the population of children and adolescents
Martyna Wiśniewska1, Agnieszka Gmitrowicz1, Nina Pawełczyk2

The aim of the study is to discuss QEEG method in the context of its usefulness for confirming neurodevelopmental disorders, and evaluating the effectiveness of psychiatric and/or psychological interventions, based on a review of available literature. It attempts to determine the applicability of this method in child and adolescent psychiatry. QEEG is quantitative analysis of EEG record using statistical processing of the signal. This method is commonly used to prepare therapeutic recommendations for neurofeedback training. Attempts at implementation of QEEG in diagnosis of various diseases have been increasingly often described in foreign studies. This also applies to psychiatry. Most reports still tackle attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (comparison of the effects of neurofeedback therapy and pharmacological interactions, distinguishing subtypes of the disease). Other analyses are concerned with diagnosing mental illnesses, differentiating their subtypes, predicting effects of pharmacological therapy, comparing the effectiveness of different treatments. Studies of patients with depression and schizophrenia are also becoming popular. QEEG has proved useful in determining the efficacy of pharmacological treatment of depression. According to the researchers, this method enables prediction of schizophrenia, differentiation of its subtypes, and determining the effectiveness of its treatment. There are studies devoted to the analysis of changes in EEG characteristic of methamphetamine addiction or eating disorders. There is, however, little research regarding the use of this method in child and adolescent psychiatry, even though there obviously exist many studies related to the use of QEEG in neurofeedback therapy in the youngest patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or studies on the effectiveness of various types of medications used in the treatment of this disease. One study discussing EEG biofeedback training in autistic children has also been published. It seems necessary to expand research on the use of quantitative QEEG in work with children and adolescents suffering from psychiatric entities.