[An electrophysiological study of the rehabilitation of cognitive functions during the treatment of patients with panic disorders].

To investigate psychophysiological features of panic disorder (PD) before and after treatment with citalopram, P300 auditory event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded in 31 patients who met the DSM-IV criteria of PD and 24 age- and sex-matched normal controls. The ERPs were recorded during a standard two-tone discrimination task (oddball task). The treatment was conducted as a monotherapy during 6 weeks, with citalopram dosage of 20 mg/day. Compared to controls, patients differed significantly by the reduced P300 amplitude and the alteration of its habituation. These patients also demonstrated more pronounced anxiety, depression, autonomic dysfunction, alexithymia and attention insufficiency. High efficacy of the medication was detected in 80,7% of patients. The data obtained demonstrate disturbances of cognitive function in PD patients as well as qualitative psychoneurophysiologic differences of patients before and after the treatment which were most striking for the wave amplitude and for the alteration of its habituation. It is concluded that P300 evaluation may be used as a diagnostic tool and should be taken into account in the choice of effective therapy for PD patients.