Neurophysiologic Correlates of Headache Pain in Subjects With Major Depressive Disorder

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 159-167 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graham C. Scanlon ◽  
Felipe A. Jain ◽  
Aimee M. Hunter ◽  
Ian A. Cook ◽  
Andrew F. Leuchter

Background. Headache pain is often comorbid with major depressive disorder (MDD) and is associated with greater symptom burden, disability, and suicidality. The biological correlates of headache pain in MDD, however, remain obscure. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between brain oscillatory activity and headache pain in MDD subjects. Methods. A total of 64 subjects with MDD who were free of psychoactive medications were evaluated for severity of headache pain in the past week. Brain function was assessed using resting-state quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG). We derived cordance in the theta (4-8 Hz) and alpha (8-12 Hz) frequency bands at each electrode, and examined correlations with headache pain in regions of interest while controlling for depression severity. Frontal and posterior asymmetry in alpha power was calculated in regions of interest. Results. Headache pain severity was associated with depression severity ( r = 0.447, P < .001). In bilateral frontal and right posterior regions, alpha cordance was significantly associated with headache intensity, including when controlling for depression severity. The direction of the correlation was positive anteriorly and negative posteriorly. Frontal left dominant alpha asymmetry correlated with severity of headache but not depression symptoms. Conclusion. Alterations in brain oscillations identified by alpha cordance and alpha asymmetry may be associated with the pathophysiology of headache pain in depression. These findings should be prospectively confirmed.

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 8
Author(s):  
Carol S. North ◽  
David Baron

Agreement has not been achieved across symptom factor studies of major depressive disorder, and no studies have identified characteristic postdisaster depressive symptom structures. This study examined the symptom structure of major depression across two databases of 1181 survivors of 11 disasters studied using consistent research methods and full diagnostic assessment, addressing limitations of prior self-report symptom-scale studies. The sample included 808 directly-exposed survivors of 10 disasters assessed 1–6 months post disaster and 373 employees of 8 organizations affected by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks assessed nearly 3 years after the attacks. Consistent symptom patterns identifying postdisaster major depression were not found across the 2 databases, and database factor analyses suggested a cohesive grouping of depression symptoms. In conclusion, this study did not find symptom clusters identifying postdisaster major depression to guide the construction and validation of screeners for this disorder. A full diagnostic assessment for identification of postdisaster major depressive disorder remains necessary.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
V. H. Dam ◽  
D. S. Stenbæk ◽  
K. Köhler-Forsberg ◽  
C. Ip ◽  
B. Ozenne ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Cognitive disturbances are common and disabling features of major depressive disorder (MDD). Previous studies provide limited insight into the co-occurrence of hot (emotion-dependent) and cold (emotion-independent) cognitive disturbances in MDD. Therefore, we here map both hot and cold cognition in depressed patients compared to healthy individuals. Methods We collected neuropsychological data from 92 antidepressant-free MDD patients and 103 healthy controls. All participants completed a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery assessing hot cognition including emotion processing, affective verbal memory and social cognition as well as cold cognition including verbal and working memory and reaction time. Results The depressed patients showed small to moderate negative affective biases on emotion processing outcomes, moderate increases in ratings of guilt and shame and moderate deficits in verbal and working memory as well as moderately slowed reaction time compared to healthy controls. We observed no correlations between individual cognitive tasks and depression severity in the depressed patients. Lastly, an exploratory cluster analysis suggested the presence of three cognitive profiles in MDD: one characterised predominantly by disturbed hot cognitive functions, one characterised predominantly by disturbed cold cognitive functions and one characterised by global impairment across all cognitive domains. Notably, the three cognitive profiles differed in depression severity. Conclusion We identified a pattern of small to moderate disturbances in both hot and cold cognition in MDD. While none of the individual cognitive outcomes mapped onto depression severity, cognitive profile clusters did. Overall cognition-based stratification tools may be useful in precision medicine approaches to MDD.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuk-In Jang ◽  
Chany Lee ◽  
Sangmin Lee ◽  
Seung Huh ◽  
Jeong-Ho Chae

Abstract Background: Electroencephalography (EEG) frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) has been observed in several psychiatric disorders. Dominance in left or right frontal alpha activity remains inconsistent in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), patients with schizophrenia, and healthy controls. This study compared FAA among patients with MDD and schizophrenia, and healthy controls.Methods: We recruited 20 patients with MDD, 18 patients with schizophrenia, and 16 healthy individuals. The EEG alpha frequency ranged from 8 Hz to 12 Hz. FAA was expressed as the difference between absolute power values of right and left hemisphere electrodes in the alpha frequency range (common-log-transformed frontal right- and left-hemisphere electrodes: F4–F3, F8–F7, FP2–FP1, AF4–AF3, F6–F5, and F2–F1). Hamilton depression and anxiety rating scales were evaluated in patients with MDD. Positive and negative syndrome scales were evaluated in patients with schizophrenia.Results: Patients with schizophrenia showed significantly lower left FAA than healthy controls (F4–F3, schizophrenia vs. healthy controls: -0.10 ± 0.04 vs. -0.05 ± 0.05). There were no significant differences in FAA between patients with schizophrenia and MDD as well as between patients with MDD and healthy controls.Conclusions: The present study suggests that FAA indicates a relatively lower activation of left frontal electrodes in schizophrenia. The left-lateralized FAA could be a neuropathological attribute in patients with schizophrenia, but a lack of sample size and information such as medication and duration of illness might obscure the interpretation and generalization of our findings. Thus, further studies to verify the findings would be warranted.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 815-824 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sahar Harati ◽  
Andrea Crowell ◽  
Yijian Huang ◽  
Helen Mayberg ◽  
Shamim Nemati

2020 ◽  
pp. 084456212097419
Author(s):  
Andrea M. Stelnicki ◽  
Laleh Jamshidi ◽  
Andréanne Angehrn ◽  
Heather D. Hadjistavropoulos ◽  
R. Nicholas Carleton

Background Nurses appear to be at a greater risk of burnout compared to other medical professionals. Higher levels of burnout are significantly associated with higher levels of anxiety, stress, and depression symptoms. Purpose The current study was designed to estimate levels of burnout among Canadian nurses, examine the association between burnout and mental disorder symptoms, and identify characteristics that may increase the risk for reporting symptoms of burnout. Method Canadian nurses ( n = 3257; 94.3% women) were surveyed online in both English and French. The survey assessed current symptoms of burnout and mental disorders (i.e., Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Major Depressive Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, Panic Disorder). Results Most nurses (63.2%) reported at least some symptoms of burnout and many (29.3%) reported clinically significant levels of burnout. Age and years of service were the only demographic variables that explained burnout rates. Participants reporting clinically significant levels of burnout were significantly more likely than participants with no burnout to screen positive for all mental disorders, but particularly for Major Depressive Disorder. Conclusions Monitoring burnout may be an effective way to identify nurses at risk of developing symptoms of mental disorders. Younger and early-career nurses are an important group to target for prevention programs.


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