Hypothalamus-anchored resting brain network changes before and after sertraline treatment in major depression.
Sertraline, one of the oldest antidepressants, remains to be the most efficacious treatment for depression. However, major depression disorder (MDD) is characterized by altered emotion processing and deficits in cognitive control. In cognitive interference tasks, patients with MDD have shown excessive hypothalamus activity. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of antidepressant treatment (sertraline) on hypothalamus-anchored resting brain circuitry. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was conducted on depressed patients (n = 12) both before and after antidepressant treatment. After eight weeks of antidepressant treatment, patients with depression showed significantly increased connectivity between the hypothalamus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, insula, putamen, caudate, and claustrum. By contrast, decreased connectivity of the hypothalamus-related areas was primarily located in the inferior frontal gyrus, medial frontal gyrus, cingulated gyrus, precuneus, thalamus, and cerebellum. After eight weeks of antidepressant therapy, 8 out of the 12 depressed subjects achieved 70% reduction or better in depressive symptoms, as measured on the Hamilton depression rating scale. Our findings may infer that antidepressant treatment can alter the functional connectivity of the hypothalamus resting brain to achieve its therapeutic effect.
The Affiliated Xi'an Central Hospital of Medical College of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710003, China ; Key Laboratory of Environment and Gene Related Diseases, Ministry of Education, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China ; Xi'an Central Hospital, Xi'an 710003, China.
Rui
R
Yang
Key Laboratory of Environment and Gene Related Diseases, Ministry of Education, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China ; Key Laboratory of Health Ministry for Forensic Science, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China.
Hongbo
H
Zhang
The Affiliated Xi'an Central Hospital of Medical College of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710003, China ; Xi'an Central Hospital, Xi'an 710003, China.
Xiaoping
X
Wu
The Affiliated Xi'an Central Hospital of Medical College of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710003, China ; Xi'an Central Hospital, Xi'an 710003, China.
Junle
J
Yang
The Affiliated Xi'an Central Hospital of Medical College of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710003, China ; Xi'an Central Hospital, Xi'an 710003, China.
Mingyue
M
Ma
The Affiliated Xi'an Central Hospital of Medical College of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710003, China ; Xi'an Central Hospital, Xi'an 710003, China.
Yanjun
Y
Gao
The Affiliated Xi'an Central Hospital of Medical College of Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710003, China ; Xi'an Central Hospital, Xi'an 710003, China.
Hongsheng
H
Liu
Key Laboratory of Environment and Gene Related Diseases, Ministry of Education, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China ; Key Laboratory of Health Ministry for Forensic Science, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an 710061, China.
Shengbin
S
Li
D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007031:Hypothalamus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011859:Radiography; D020280:Sertraline / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D000928:Antidepressive Agents; D020280:Sertraline