Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-j824f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T22:17:51.886Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Functional neuroimaging studies in mood disorders

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 June 2014

Morgan Haldane  and
Sophia Frangou
Morgan Haldane
Affiliation:
Section of Neurobiology of Psychosis, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
Sophia Frangou*
Affiliation:
Section of Neurobiology of Psychosis, Institute of Psychiatry, London, UK
*
Dr Sophia Frangou, Section of Neurobiology of Psychosis (Box P066), Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK, Tel/Fax: +44 20 7848 0903; E-mail: s.frangou@iop.kcl.ac.uk
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Background:

Our understanding of the neural circuitry involved in mood disorders is rapidly expanding through the ever-increasing application of functional brain imaging techniques.

Objectives:

A selective review of functional neuroimaging studies in patients with primary mood disorders was undertaken in order to identify points of commonality and controversy in the existing literature.

Methods:

Articles published between 1980 and July 2005 were identified using a range of keywords from relevant on-line databases and key journals.

Results:

Increased activity within limbic regions has been consistently associated with depressive states and may also be present in manic states too. Dorsal and ventral prefrontal regions appear compromised as suggested by emerging evidence of cortical inefficiency within prefrontal regions or reductions in their connectivity with limbic areas. Most of the functional changes observed are at least partly reversible following clinical remission although deficits in prefrontal regions may be state-related.

Conclusions:

Despite the use of disparate functional imaging modalities, there is a convergence of findings, and the results described do not appear to differ between unipolar and bipolar depression. However, further data are required in order to fully determine the functional changes occurring during manic states. Future work will also need to elucidate the effects of medication, the utility of specific cognitive tasks, and blood oxygenation level-dependent interactions within these affective states.

Keywords

bipolar disorderdepressionfunctionalimagingmaniaunipolar depression
Type
Review Article
Information
Acta Neuropsychiatrica , Volume 18 , Issue 2 , April 2006 , pp. 88 - 99
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Blackwell Munksgaard

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 4th edn. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1994. Google Scholar
Doris, A, Ebmeier, K, Shajahan, P. Depressive illness. Lancet 1999;354: 1369–1375. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murray, CJ, Lopez, AD. Global mortality, disability, and the contribution of risk factors: Global Burden of Disease Study. Lancet 1997;349: 1436–1442. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Weissman, MM, Myers, JK. Affective disorders in a US urban community: the use of research diagnostic criteria in an epidemiological survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1978;35: 1304–1311. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kessler, RC, McGonagle, KA, Zhao, Set al. Lifetime and 12-months prevalence of DSM-III-R psychiatric disorders in the United States. Results from the National Comorbidity Survey. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1994;51: 8–19. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davidson, RJ. Anxiety and affective style: role of prefrontal cortex and amygdala. Biol Psychiatry 2002;51: 68–80. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rolls, ET. The orbitofrontal cortex. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 1996;351: 1433–1443. Google ScholarPubMed
Bechara, A, Damasio, H, Damasio, AR. Emotion, decision making and the orbitofrontal cortex. Cereb Cortex 2000;10: 295–307. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Paus, T. Primate anterior cingulate cortex: where motor control, drive and cognition interface. Nat Rev Neurosci 2001;2: 417–424. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Feldman, S, Conforti, N, Weidenfeld, J. Limbic pathways and hypothalamic neurotransmitters mediating adrenocortical responses to neural stimuli. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 1995;19: 235–240. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ongur, D, An, X, Price, JL. Prefrontal cortical projections to the hypothalamus in macaque monkeys. J Comp Neurol 1998;401: 480–505. 3.0.CO;2-F>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spitzer, RL, Endicott, J, Robins, E. Research diagnostic criteria, rationale and reliability. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1978;35: 773–782. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 3rd edn. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1980. Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, 3rd edn (revised). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 1987. Google Scholar
World Health Organisation. The ICD9 International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Geneva: WHO, 1977. Google Scholar
World Health Organisation. The ICD10 International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems. Geneva: WHO, 1992. Google Scholar
Baxter, LR, Phelps, ME, Mazziotta, JCet al. Cerebral metabolic rates for glucose in mood disorders. Studies with positron emission tomography and fluorodeoxyglucose F 18. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1985;42: 441–447. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Drevets, WC, Price, JL, Bardgett, ME, Reich, T, Todd, RD, Raichle, ME. Glucose metabolism in the amygdala in depression: relationship to diagnostic subtype and plasma cortisol levels. Pharmacol Biochem Behav 2002;71: 431–447. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baxter, LR, Schwartz, JM, Phelps, MEet al. Reduction of prefrontal cortex glucose metabolism common to three types of depression. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1989;46: 243–250. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunn, RT, Kimbrell, TA, Ketter, TAet al. Principal components of the Beck Depression Inventory and regional cerebral metabolism in unipolar and bipolar depression. Biol Psychiatry 2002;51: 387–399. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sackeim, HA, Prohovnik, I, Moeller, JRet al. Regional cerebral blood flow in mood disorders. I. Comparison of major depressives and normal controls at rest. Arch Gen Psychiatry 1990;47: 60–70. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ito, H, Kawashima, R, Awata, Set al. Hypoperfusion in the limbic system and prefrontal cortex in depression: SPECT with anatomic standardization technique. J Nucl Med 1996;37: 410–414. Google ScholarPubMed
Galynker, II, Cai, J, Ongseng, F, Finestone, H, Dutta, E, Serseni, D. Hypofrontality and negative symptoms in major depressive disorder. J Nucl Med 1998;39: 608–612. Google ScholarPubMed
Tutus, A, Simsek, A, Sofuoglu, Set al. Changes in regional cerebral blood flow demonstrated by single photon emission computed tomography in depressive disorders: comparison of unipolar vs. bipolar subtypes. Psychiatry Res 1998;83: 169–177. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Bench, CJ, Friston, KJ, Brown, RG, Frackowiak, RS, Dolan, RJ. Regional cerebral blood flow in depression measured by positron emission tomography: the relationship with clinical dimensions. Psychol Med 1993;23: 579–590. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Migliorelli, R, Starkstein, SE, Teson, Aet al. SPECT findings in patients with primary mania. J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 1993;5: 379–383. Google ScholarPubMed
Rubin, E, Sackeim, HA, Prohovnik, I, Moeller, JR, Schnur, DB, Mukherjee, S. Regional cerebral blood flow in mood disorders. IV. Comparison of mania and depression. Psychiatry Res 1995;61: 1–10. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Connell, RA, Van Heertum, RL, Luck, Det al. Single-photon emission computed tomography of the brain in acute mania and schizophrenia. J Neuroimaging 1995;5: 101–104. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blumberg, HP, Stern, E, Ricketts, Set al. Rostral and orbital prefrontal cortex dysfunction in the manic state of bipolar disorder. Am J Psychiatry 1999;156: 1986–1988. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blumberg, HP, Stern, E, Martinez, Det al. Increased anterior cingulate and caudate activity in bipolar mania. Biol Psychiatry 2000;48: 1045–1052. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goodwin, GM, Cavanagh, JT, Glabus, MF, Kehoe, RF, O'Carroll, RE, Ebmeier, K P. Uptake of 99mTc-exametazime shown by single photon emission computed tomography before and after lithium withdrawal in bipolar patients: associations with mania. Br J Psychiatry 1997;170: 426–430. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gyulai, L, Alavi, A, Broich, K, Reilley, J, Ball, WB, Whybrow, PC. I-123 iofetamine single-photon computed emission tomography in rapid cycling bipolar disorder: a clinical study. Biol Psychiatry 1997;41: 152–161. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Okada, G, Okamoto, Y, Morinobu, S, Yamawaki, S, Yokota, N. Attenuated left prefrontal activation during a verbal fluency task in patients with depression. Neuropsychobiology 2003;47: 21–26. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dye, SM, Spence, SA, Bench, CJet al. No evidence for left superior temporal dysfunction in asymptomatic schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. PET study of verbal fluency. Br J Psychiatry 1999;175: 367–374. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Curtis, VA, Dixon, TA, Morris, RGet al. Differential frontal activation in schizophrenia and bipolar illness during verbal fluency. J Affect Disord 2001;66: 111–121. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berman, KF, Doran, AR, Pickar, D, Weinberger, DR. Is the mechanism of prefrontal hypofunction in depression the same as in schizophrenia? Regional cerebral blood flow during cognitive activation. Br J Psychiatry 1993;162: 183–192. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Elliott, R, Baker, SC, Rogers, RDet al. Prefrontal dysfunction in depressed patients performing a complex planning task: a study using positron emission tomography. Psychol Med 1997;27: 931–942. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
George, MS, Ketter, TA, Parekh, PIet al. Blunted left cingulate activation in mood disorder subjects during a response interference task (the Stroop). J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 1997;9: 55–63. Google ScholarPubMed
Blumberg, HP, Leung, HC, Skudlarski, Pet al. A functional magnetic resonance imaging study of bipolar disorder: state- and trait-related dysfunction in ventral prefrontal cortices. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2003;60: 601–609. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barch, DM, Sheline, YI, Csernansky, JG, Snyder, AZ. Working memory and prefrontal cortex dysfunction: specificity to schizophrenia compared with major depression. Biol Psychiatry 2003;53: 376–384. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harvey, PO, Fossati, P, Pochon, JBet al. Cognitive control and brain resources in major depression: an fMRI study using the n-back task. Neuroimage 2005;26: 860–869. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Monks, PJ, Thompson, JM, Bullmore, ETet al. A functional MRI study of working memory task in euthymic bipolar disorder: evidence for task-specific dysfunction. Bipolar Disord 2004;6: 550–564. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frangou, S. The Maudsley bipolar disorder project. Epilepsia 2005;46: 19–25. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yurgelun-Todd, DA, Gruber, SA, Kanayama, G, Killgore, WD, Baird, AA, Young, AD. fMRI during affect discrimination in bipolar affective disorder. Bipolar Disord 2000;2: 237–248. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lawrence, NS, Williams, AM, Surguladze, Set al. Subcortical and ventral prefrontal cortical neural responses to facial expressions distinguish patients with bipolar disorder and major depression. Biol Psychiatry 2004;55: 578–587. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Surguladze, S, Brammer, MJ, Keedwell, Pet al. A differential pattern of neural response toward sad versus happy facial expressions in major depressive disorder. Biol Psychiatry 2005;57: 201–209. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Keedwell, PA, Andrew, C, Williams, SC, Brammer, MJ, Phillips, ML. A Double Dissociation of Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortical Responses to Sad and Happy Stimuli in Depressed and Healthy Individuals. Biol Psychiatry 2005;58: 495–503. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Canli, T, Desmond, JE, Zhao, Z, Glover, G, Gabrieli, JDE. Hemispheric asymmetry for emotional stimuli detected with fMRI. Neuroreport 1998;9: 3233–3239. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Teasdale, JD, Howard, RJ, Cox, SGet al. Functional MRI study of the cognitive generation of affect. Am J Psychiatry 1999;156: 209–215. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kumari, V, Mitterschiffthaler, MT, Teasdale, JDet al. Neural abnormalities during cognitive generation of affect in treatment-resistant depression. Biol Psychiatry 2003;54: 777–791. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Malhi, GS, Lagopoulos, J, Ward, PBet al. Cognitive generation of affect in bipolar depression: an fMRI study. Eur J Neurosci 2004a;19: 741–754. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Malhi, GS, Lagopoulos, J, Sachdev, P, Mitchell, PB, Ivanovski, B, Parker, GB. Cognitive generation of affect in hypomania: an fMRI study. Bipolar Disord 2004b;6: 271–285. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anand, A, Li, Y, Wang, Yet al. Activity and connectivity of brain mood regulating circuit in depression: a functional magnetic resonance study. Biol Psychiatry 2005a;57: 1079–1088. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Friston, KJ, Frith, CD, Liddle, PF, Frackowiak, RS. Functional connectivity the principal-component analysis of large (PET) data sets. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab 1993;13: 5–14. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hugdahl, K, Rund, BR, Lund, Aet al. Brain activation measured with fMRI during a mental arithmetic task in schizophrenia and major depression. Am J Psychiatry 2004;161: 286–293. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berns, GS, Martin, M, Proper, SM. Limbic hyperreactivity in bipolar II disorder. Am J Psychiatry 2002;159: 304–306. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mayberg, HS, Brannan, SK, Tekell, JLet al. Regional metabolic effects of fluoxetine in major depression: serial changes and relationship to clinical response. Biol Psychiatry 2000;48: 830–843. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sheline, YI, Barch, DM, Donnelly, JM, Ollinger, JM, Snyder, AZ, Mintun, MA. Increased amygdala response to masked emotional faces in depressed subjects resolves with antidepressant treatment: an fMRI study. Biol Psychiatry 2001;50: 651–658. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fu, CH, Williams, SC, Cleare, AJet al. Attenuation of the neural response to sad faces in major depression by antidepressant treatment: a prospective, event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Arch Gen Psychiatry 2004;61: 877–889. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Anand, A, Li, Y, Wang, Yet al. Antidepressant effect on connectivity of the mood-regulating circuit: an fMRI study. Neuropsychopharmacology 2005b;30: 1334–1344. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Manji, HK, Moore, GJ, Chen, G. Lithium at 50: have the neuroprotective effects of this unique medication been overlooked? Biol Psychiatry 1999;46: 929–940. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moore, GJ, Bebchuk, JM, Wilds, IB, Chen, G, Manji, HK. Lithium-induced increase in human brain grey matter. Lancet 2000a;356: 1241–1242. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Moore, GJ, Bebchuk, JM, Hasanat, Ket al. Lithium increases N-acetyl-aspartate in the human brain: in vivo evidence in support of bcl-2′s neurotrophic effects? Biol Psychiatry 2000b;48: 1–8. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sheline, YI, Gado, MH, Kraemer, HC. Untreated depression and hippocampal Volume loss. Am J Psychiatry 2003;160: 1516–1518. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Silverstone, PH, Bell, EC, Willson, MC, Dave, S, Wilman, AH. Lithium alters brain activation in bipolar disorder in a task- and state-dependent manner: an fMRI study. Ann Gen Psychiatry 2005;4: 14. CrossRefGoogle Scholar