Effect of electroconvulsive therapy on neural response to affective pictures: A randomized, sham-controlled fMRI study
Research output: Contribution to journal › Journal article › Research › peer-review
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment for severe depression but its neurocognitive mechanisms are unclear. This randomized, sham-controlled functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study explored the effects of a single ECT on neural response to affective pictures. Twenty-seven patients with major depressive disorder were randomized to a single active ECT (N = 15) or sham (N = 12) session in a double-blind, parallel-group design. On the following day, patients underwent fMRI during which they viewed pleasant, unpleasant and neutral pictures and performed a free recall test after the scan. Mood symptoms were assessed before ECT/sham and at the time of fMRI. Subsequently, all patients continued active ECT as usual. Mood symptoms were reassessed after six active ECT sessions. A single ECT vs. sham session reduced neural response to unpleasant vs. pleasant pictures in the medial prefrontal cortex, a region showing greater response in the more depressed patients. This effect occurred in the absence of between-group differences in picture recall, mood symptoms or concomitant medication. In conclusion, modulation of medial prefrontal hyper-activity during encoding of negative affective information may be a common mechanism of distinct biological depression treatments.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Journal | European Neuropsychopharmacology |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 8 |
Pages (from-to) | 915-924 |
Number of pages | 10 |
ISSN | 0924-977X |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Aug 2018 |
- Depression, ECT, Magnetic resonance imaging, Neurocognition, Prefrontal cortex
Research areas
ID: 203247426