Comparing Bender-Gestalt Test and Quantitative Electroencephalography for Brain Trauma Diagnosis in Depressive and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders

Background: Some experts assert there is an association between traumatic brain injury and cognitive impairments such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and depressive disorder. Furthermore, children and adults with ADHD struggle with focusing, organizing tasks, and feeling restless. They might experience sadness, guilt, irritability, low self-confidence and helplessness. In this regard, ADHD and depressive disorder occasionally occur together. We aimed to compare the clinical application of the Bender-Gestalt test (BGT) and electroencephalography in screening brain damage in the patients with the mentioned disorders.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study to assess diagnostic accuracy. Eighty patients with depression (n=35) and ADHD (n=45) resulting from brain damage aged 10-35 years who had been referred by the psychologist or psychiatrist to Imam Hossein Clinic in Yazd. Both the BGT and quantitative electroencephalography (QEEG) results existed in their files. Patients with any serious medical, other psychiatric disorders or history of drug dependency were excluded. Paired t test was used to analyze the differences.

Results: The brain damage score was different in the two tests. Based on the paired t test, the BGT was a more valid screening test. Also, the score of the two tests were different in the depression and ADHD mean scores (P < 0.05).

Conclusion: BGT was a more reliable tool compared to QEEG for diagnosing brain damage within the patients with the mentioned disorders.