title: The effect of acute citalopram on face emotion processing in remitted depression: a pharmacoMRI study.
abstract: Both reduced serotonergic (5-HT) function and negative emotional biases have been associated with vulnerability to depression. In order to investigate whether these might be related we examined 5-HT modulation of affective processing in 14 remitted depressed subjects compared with 12 never depressed controls matched for age and sex. Participants underwent function magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a covert face emotion task with and without intravenous citalopram (7.5mg) pretreatment. Compared with viewing neutral faces, and irrespective of group, citalopram enhanced left anterior cingulate blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) response to happy faces, right posterior insula and right lateral orbitofrontal responses to sad faces, and reduced amygdala responses bilaterally to fearful faces. In controls, relative to remitted depressed subjects, citalopram increased bilateral hippocampal responses to happy faces and increased right anterior insula response to sad faces. These findings were not accounted for by changes in BOLD responses to viewing neutral faces. These results are consistent with previous findings showing 5-HT modulation of affective processing; differences found in previously depressed participants compared with controls may contribute to emotional processing biases underlying vulnerability to depressive relapse.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, School of Community Based Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Human Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, M13 9PT, UK. ian.anderson@manchester.ac.uk
authors.forename: Ian M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Juhasz
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Darragh
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Downey
authors.forename: Shane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McKie
authors.forename: J F William
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Deakin
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Elliott
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000679:Amygdala / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000503:physiopathology; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D015283:Citalopram / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology; D004644:Emotions; D005149:Facial Expression; D005239:Fear; D005260:Female; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000187:drug effects; D012701:Serotonin / Q000378:metabolism; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors / Q000008:administration & dosage*
chemical_list: D015283:Citalopram; D012701:Serotonin; D017367:Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors