Pentothal-activated changes in the EEG of schizophrenic patients: Response to phenothiazine therapy and relationship to selected patient variables

In a sample of 82 schizophrenic patients, the pentothal activation technique described by Goldman did produce characteristic EEG changes which were dampened by a relatively short course of treatment with phenothiazines. While there was improvement on IMPS syndromes under all drug treatments, improvement in clinical status was not associated with modification of EEG activity. Of course, it is not likely that, in very many instances, patients were in full remission from their schizophrenic illness, a state which Goldman felt was necessary for a return to a “normal” EEG response. There was little evidence for differential drug effect upon the EEG response, and none that would help define the most effective drug for a given patient. Finally, pentothal-activated EEG changes were found to be unrelated to such background variables as schizophrenic reaction subtype, duration of illness, and age of patients. The procedure is clearly safe in competent hands and might well be used with different populations treated over longer periods for diagnostic and assessment purposes, as Goldman has suggested.