title: Detection of the acute effects of hydrocortisone in the hippocampus using pharmacological fMRI.
abstract: Impaired hippocampal function is believed to be important in the pathogenesis of depression. The hippocampus contains a high concentration of both mineralocorticoid (MR) and glucocorticoid receptors (GR), and the experimental administration of corticosteroids has been reported to mimic memory impairments seen in depression. Using pharmacological functional magnetic resonance imaging (phMRI) we investigated whether hippocampal function is altered after acute administration of hydrocortisone. Changes in BOLD signal following infusion of 100mg hydrocortisone given as a rapid intravenous bolus were measured in 14 healthy volunteers in a within-subject placebo-controlled crossover design. Subsequently, subjects completed an n-back task during an fMRI scan. Hydrocortisone infusion caused a significant, time-dependent increase in fMRI BOLD signal in hippocampus reaching a maximal effect at 11-19min. The n-back task increased BOLD signal in prefrontal and parietal cortical areas and decreased it in the hippocampus. After hydrocortisone the left hippocampal decrease in BOLD signal was attenuated with the magnitude of attenuation correlating with the increase seen after hydrocortisone infusion. No difference in behavioural task performance was observed. The results suggest acute hydrocortisone has rapid direct and modulatory influences on hippocampal function, probably acting through non-genomic GR or MR signalling. Hydrocortisone infusion phMRI may be a useful tool to investigate hippocampal corticosteroid receptor function in depression.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience and Psychiatry Unit, The University of Manchester and Manchester Academic Health Sciences Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom. Catherine.Symonds@manchester.ac.uk
authors.forename: Catherine S
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Symonds
authors.forename: Shane
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: McKie
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Elliott
authors.forename: John Francis
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: William Deakin
authors.forename: Ian M
authors.initials: IM
authors.lastname: Anderson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D018592:Cross-Over Studies; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone