title: Magnetoencephalographic Correlates of Emotional Processing in Major Depression Before and After Pharmacological Treatment.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In major depressive disorder (MDD), electrophysiological and imaging studies suggest reduced neural activity in the parietal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex regions. In the present study, neural correlates of emotional processing in MDD were analyzed for the first time in a pre-/post-treatment design by means of magnetoencephalography (MEG), allowing for detecting temporal dynamics of brain activation.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-five medication-free Caucasian in-patients with MDD and 25 matched controls underwent a baseline MEG session with passive viewing of pleasant, unpleasant, and neutral pictures. Fifteen patients were followed-up with a second MEG session after 4 weeks of antidepressant monopharmacotherapy with mirtazapine. The corresponding controls received no intervention between the measurements. The clinical course of depression was assessed using the Hamilton Depression scale.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Prior to treatment, an overall neocortical hypoactivation during emotional processing, particularly at the parietal regions and areas at the right temporoparietal junction, as well as abnormal valence-specific reactions at the right parietal and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) regions were observed in patients compared to controls. These effects occurred <150 ms, suggesting dysfunctional processing of emotional stimuli at a preconscious level. Successful antidepressant treatment resulted in a normalization of the hypoactivation at the right parietal and right temporoparietal regions. Accordingly, both dlPFC regions revealed an increase of activity after therapy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The present study provides neurophysiological evidence for dysfunctional emotional processing in a fronto-parieto-temporal network, possibly contributing to the pathogenesis of MDD. These activation patterns might have the potential to serve as biomarkers of treatment success.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Germany (Drs Domschke, Zwanzger, Knoke, and Arolt); Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Germany (Dr Domschke); Institute of Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Muenster, Germany (Ms Rehbein and Klinkenberg, Drs Steinberg, Dobel, Pantev, and Junghofer); Department of Radiology, University of Muenster, Germany (Dr Kugel); Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany (Dr Kersting).
authors.forename: Katharina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Domschke
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Germany (Drs Domschke, Zwanzger, Knoke, and Arolt); Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Germany (Dr Domschke); Institute of Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Muenster, Germany (Ms Rehbein and Klinkenberg, Drs Steinberg, Dobel, Pantev, and Junghofer); Department of Radiology, University of Muenster, Germany (Dr Kugel); Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany (Dr Kersting).
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zwanzger
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Germany (Drs Domschke, Zwanzger, Knoke, and Arolt); Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Germany (Dr Domschke); Institute of Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Muenster, Germany (Ms Rehbein and Klinkenberg, Drs Steinberg, Dobel, Pantev, and Junghofer); Department of Radiology, University of Muenster, Germany (Dr Kugel); Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany (Dr Kersting).
authors.forename: Maimu A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Rehbein
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Germany (Drs Domschke, Zwanzger, Knoke, and Arolt); Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Germany (Dr Domschke); Institute of Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Muenster, Germany (Ms Rehbein and Klinkenberg, Drs Steinberg, Dobel, Pantev, and Junghofer); Department of Radiology, University of Muenster, Germany (Dr Kugel); Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany (Dr Kersting).
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Steinberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Germany (Drs Domschke, Zwanzger, Knoke, and Arolt); Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Germany (Dr Domschke); Institute of Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Muenster, Germany (Ms Rehbein and Klinkenberg, Drs Steinberg, Dobel, Pantev, and Junghofer); Department of Radiology, University of Muenster, Germany (Dr Kugel); Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany (Dr Kersting).
authors.forename: Kathrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Knoke
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Germany (Drs Domschke, Zwanzger, Knoke, and Arolt); Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Germany (Dr Domschke); Institute of Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Muenster, Germany (Ms Rehbein and Klinkenberg, Drs Steinberg, Dobel, Pantev, and Junghofer); Department of Radiology, University of Muenster, Germany (Dr Kugel); Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany (Dr Kersting).
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dobel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Germany (Drs Domschke, Zwanzger, Knoke, and Arolt); Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Germany (Dr Domschke); Institute of Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Muenster, Germany (Ms Rehbein and Klinkenberg, Drs Steinberg, Dobel, Pantev, and Junghofer); Department of Radiology, University of Muenster, Germany (Dr Kugel); Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany (Dr Kersting).
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Klinkenberg
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Germany (Drs Domschke, Zwanzger, Knoke, and Arolt); Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Germany (Dr Domschke); Institute of Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Muenster, Germany (Ms Rehbein and Klinkenberg, Drs Steinberg, Dobel, Pantev, and Junghofer); Department of Radiology, University of Muenster, Germany (Dr Kugel); Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany (Dr Kersting).
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kugel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Germany (Drs Domschke, Zwanzger, Knoke, and Arolt); Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Germany (Dr Domschke); Institute of Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Muenster, Germany (Ms Rehbein and Klinkenberg, Drs Steinberg, Dobel, Pantev, and Junghofer); Department of Radiology, University of Muenster, Germany (Dr Kugel); Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany (Dr Kersting).
authors.forename: Anette
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kersting
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Germany (Drs Domschke, Zwanzger, Knoke, and Arolt); Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Germany (Dr Domschke); Institute of Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Muenster, Germany (Ms Rehbein and Klinkenberg, Drs Steinberg, Dobel, Pantev, and Junghofer); Department of Radiology, University of Muenster, Germany (Dr Kugel); Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany (Dr Kersting).
authors.forename: Volker
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Arolt
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Germany (Drs Domschke, Zwanzger, Knoke, and Arolt); Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Germany (Dr Domschke); Institute of Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Muenster, Germany (Ms Rehbein and Klinkenberg, Drs Steinberg, Dobel, Pantev, and Junghofer); Department of Radiology, University of Muenster, Germany (Dr Kugel); Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany (Dr Kersting).
authors.forename: Christo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pantev
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, University of Muenster, Germany (Drs Domschke, Zwanzger, Knoke, and Arolt); Department of Psychiatry, University of Wuerzburg, Germany (Dr Domschke); Institute of Biomagnetism and Biosignal Analysis, University of Muenster, Germany (Ms Rehbein and Klinkenberg, Drs Steinberg, Dobel, Pantev, and Junghofer); Department of Radiology, University of Muenster, Germany (Dr Kugel); Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, University of Leipzig, Germany (Dr Kersting). markus.junghoefer@uni-muenster.de.
authors.forename: Markus
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Junghofer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000928:Antidepressive Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism*; D004644:Emotions / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D015225:Magnetoencephalography / Q000187:drug effects / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000928:Antidepressive Agents
keywords: Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; EEG; IAPS; MDD; MEG; parietal hypoactivation; temporoparietal junction