Study Report
Reference
Citation | Davidson, 2003 PubMed |
Full Info | Davidson, R.J., Irwin, W., Anderle, M.J. and Kalin, N.H. (2003) The neural substrates of affective processing in depressed patients treated with venlafaxine. Am J Psychiatry, 160, 64-75.
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Study
Hypothesis or Background |
The purpose of this study was to use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to probe the neural circuitry associated with reactivity to negative and positive affective stimuli in patients with major depressive disorder before treatment and after 2 and 8 weeks of treatment with venlafaxine. Relations between baseline neural activation and response to treatment were also evaluated.
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Sample Information | patients with major depressive disorder (N=12) and healthy comparison subjects (N=5) |
Method Detail | Patients with major depressive disorder (N=12) and healthy comparison subjects (N=5) were scanned on three occasions, during which trials of alternating blocks of affective and neutral pictorial visual stimuli were presented. Symptoms were evaluated at each testing occasion, and both groups completed self-report measures of mood. Statistical parametric mapping was used to examine the fMRI data with a focus on the group-by-time interactions. |
Method Keywords | functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI); psychometric method |
Result | Patients showed a significant reduction in depressive symptoms with treatment. Group-by-time interactions in response to the negative versus neutral stimuli were found in the left insular cortex and the left anterior cingulate. At baseline, both groups showed bilateral activation in the visual cortices, lateral prefrontal cortex, and amygdala in response to the negative versus neutral stimuli, with patients showing greater activation in the visual cortex and less activation in the left lateral prefrontal cortex. Patients with greater relative anterior cingulate activation at baseline in response to the negative versus neutral stimuli showed the most robust treatment response. |
Conclusions | The findings underscore the importance of the neural circuitry activated by negative affect in depression and indicate that components of this circuitry can be changed within 2 weeks of treatment with antidepressant medication. |
Relationships reported by
Davidson, 2003
Component A Approved Name (Name in Paper) |
Component A Type |
Component B Approved Name (Name in Paper) |
Component B Type |
Statistical Result |
Relationship Description |
Result Category (Positive/Negative)) |
MDD
|
syndrome |
Anterior cingulate cortex (anterior cingulate) |
brain morphology and function |
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Patients with greater relative anterior cingulate activation at baseline in response to the negative versus neutral stimuli showed the most robust treatment response. |
Positive
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MDD
|
syndrome |
left lateral prefrontal cortex (left lateral prefrontal cortex) |
brain morphology and function |
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patients showing less activation in the left lateral prefrontal cortex in response to the negative versus neutral stimuli |
Positive
|
MDD
|
syndrome |
Visual cortex (visual cortex) |
brain morphology and function |
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patients showing greater activation in the visual cortex in response to the negative versus neutral stimuli |
Positive
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