Neuropsychological Mechanisms of Depression and Treatment

2016 ◽  
pp. 200-213
Author(s):  
Catherine Harmer ◽  
Abigail Pringle
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Treatment Response ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Individual Treatment ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Treatment Development ◽  
Magnetic Imaging ◽  
Cognitive Neuropsychological ◽  
Neuropsychological Mechanisms

Furthering our understanding of the neuropsychological mechanisms of both depression and antidepressant treatment has the potential to both inform treatment development and predict individual treatment response. In this chapter, the neuropsychological mechanisms of depression and treatment are discussed. It is argued that negative biases in information processing are consistently found in depression, and that rather than acting directly to change mood, the primary mode of antidepressant treatment is to remediate these negative biases. Evidence from behavioral and functional magnetic imaging studies is reviewed. Finally, the implications of this cognitive neuropsychological model of antidepressant treatment as well as future directions and challenges for the model are considered.

What Can We Tell About the Effect of Electroconvulsive Therapy on the Human Hippocampus?

2021 ◽  
pp. 155005942110440
Author(s):  
Akihiro Takamiya ◽  
Taishiro Kishimoto ◽  
Masaru Mimura
Keyword(s):  
Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽  
Nonhuman Primates ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Hippocampal Volume ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Volume Changes ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Human Hippocampus ◽  
Methodological Considerations ◽  
Robust Evidence

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective antidepressant treatment, although its mechanisms of action remain unclear. Since 2010, several structural magnetic resonance imaging studies based on a neuroplastic hypothesis have consistently reported increases in the hippocampal volume following ECT. Moreover, volume increases in the human dentate gyrus, where neurogenesis occurs, have also been reported. These results are in line with the preclinical findings of ECT-induced neuroplastic changes, including neurogenesis, gliogenesis, synaptogenesis, and angiogenesis, in rodents and nonhuman primates. Despite this robust evidence of an effect of ECT on hippocampal plasticity, the clinical relevance of these human hippocampal changes continues to be questioned. This narrative review summarizes recent findings regarding ECT-induced hippocampal volume changes. Furthermore, this review also discusses methodological considerations and future directions in this field.

scholarly journals Biomarkers of ketamine’s antidepressant effect: a clinical review of genetics, functional connectivity, and neurophysiology

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 247054702110142
Author(s):  
Alexandra A. Alario ◽  
Mark J. Niciu
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Response ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Antidepressant Effect ◽  
Aspartate Receptor ◽  
Neurophysiological Studies ◽  
All Cause Mortality ◽  
Antidepressant Efficacy ◽  
Glutamate Modulators ◽  
Response Biomarkers

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is one of the leading causes of morbidity and all-cause mortality (including suicide) worldwide, and, unfortunately, first-line monoaminergic antidepressants and evidence-based psychotherapies are not effective for all patients. Subanesthetic doses of the N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists and glutamate modulators ketamine and S-ketamine have rapid and robust antidepressant efficacy in such treatment-resistant depressed patients (TRD). Yet, as with all antidepressant treatments including electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), not all TRD patients adequately respond, and we are presently unable to a priori predict who will respond or not respond to ketamine. Therefore, antidepressant treatment response biomarkers to ketamine have been a major focus of research for over a decade. In this article, we review the evidence in support of treatment response biomarkers, with a particular focus on genetics, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and neurophysiological studies, i.e. electroencephalography and magnetoencephalography. The studies outlined here lay the groundwork for replication and dissemination.

Antidepressant Treatment Response in Depressed Hypothyroid Patients

1989 ◽  
Vol 40 (9) ◽  
pp. 954-956
Author(s):  
Mark J. Russ ◽  
Sigurd H. Ackerman
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Response ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Hypothyroid Patients

Assessment of mature serum brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) is not superior to total serum BDNF in prediction of antidepressant treatment outcome

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S410-S410 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Eckert ◽  
T. Mikoteit ◽  
J. Beck ◽  
U.M. Hemmeter ◽  
S. Brand ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Outcome ◽  
Treatment Response ◽  
Rating Scale ◽  
Antidepressant Treatment ◽  
Serum Levels ◽  
Total Serum ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Functional Link ◽  
Neurotrophic Activity ◽  
Serum Bdnf

BackgroundSerum BDNF levels are decreased in major depressive disorder (MDD) and tend to normalize under antidepressant treatment, serving as a treatment outcome predictor. BDNF is initially synthetized as precursor protein proBDNF and is cleaved to mature BDNF (mBDNF) while only the latter exerts neurotrophic activity.AimThe aim was to explore if a specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit for mBDNF in serum would be superior to the unspecific assessment of total serum BDNF in predicting treatment response in MDD.MethodsTwenty-five patients with MDD underwent standardized treatment with duloxetine. Severity of depression was measured by Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) at baseline (BL), after one (W1), two (W2) and six weeks (W6) of treatment. Treatment response was defined as a HDRS ≥ 50% reduction of BL score at W6. mBDNF and total BDNF serum levels were determined at BL, W1 and W2.ResultsA high and stable correlation was found between mBDNF and total BDNF serum levels over all measurements. The predictive value of mBDNF BL levels and mBDNFΔW1 to response was similar to that of total BDNF BL and total BDNFΔW1. The assessment of serum mBDNF was not superior to total BDNF in prediction of treatment outcome.ConclusionsNot only baseline total BDNF but also mBDNF is predictive to treatment outcome. The later might represent the main player in this respect, which supports the idea of a functional link between neuroplasticity and MDD.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Snakes vs. Guns: A Systematic Review of Comparisons Between Phylogenetic and Ontogenetic Threats

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soheil Shapouri
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Fear Conditioning ◽  
Attention Bias ◽  
Preliminary Evidence ◽  
Stimulus Selection ◽  
Imaging Studies ◽  
Behavioral Experiments ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Illusory Correlation ◽  
Specific Phobias

The potential differences between phylogenetic threats (e.g., snakes) and ontogenetic threats (e.g., guns) can have a wide-ranging impact on a variety of theoretical and practical issues, from etiology of specific phobias to stimulus selection in psychophysiological studies, yet this line of research has not been systematically reviewed. Here, we summarize and synthesize findings from fear conditioning, illusory correlation, attention bias and neuroimaging studies that have compared these two types of threats to human survival. While a few brain imaging studies reveals preliminary evidence for different brain networks involved in the processing of phylogenetic and ontogenetic threats, attention bias studies tentatively show faster reaction time for modern threats, illusory correlation bias is evident for both types of threats, and fear conditioning studies are far from conclusive. The results of behavioral experiments, especially attention bias research, pose a challenge to established theories like biological preparedness and fear module. We discuss the findings in terms of other theories that might explain the same results and conclude with potential future directions.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document