title: Blood oxygen level-dependent signals via fMRI in the mood-regulating circuit using two animal models of depression are reversed by chronic escitalopram treatment.
abstract: People exposed to stressful experience are at increased risk of the development of depression. A number of functional imaging studies have found disturbances in the mood-regulating circuit of the stress-exposed depressed patients, although few animal imaging studies have been undertaken addressing the brain functional changes of depression.
  
  
  
  Two rat models of depression: maternal separation (MS) and chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS), imitating early life stress and adult stress respectively, were administered with escitalopram. The differences in functional brain changes were determined by blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
  
  
  
  Increased BOLD activation was observed in some brain regions of MS and CUMS animals, such as the bilateral hypothalamus, limbic system, hippocampus and frontal lobe, which were parts of mood-regulating circuit. Furthermore, the MS- and CUMS-induced increases in BOLD activation were partially attenuated by chronic escitalopram treatment.
  
  
  
  These results suggested hyperactivation of mood-regulating circuit at baseline in the depressed animals exposed to stressful experience, and escitalopram can at least partially reverse these effects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Critical Care Medicine, Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China; Department of Neurology, Affiliated ZhongDa Hospital of Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Jiao-Jie
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Hui
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Guang-Jun
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Xi
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Affiliated ZhongDa Hospital of Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Shan-Shan
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Affiliated ZhongDa Hospital of Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Xiao-Li
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Affiliated ZhongDa Hospital of Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Lei-Yu
authors.initials: LY
authors.lastname: Geng
authors.affiliation: Institution of Molecular Imaging, Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Gao-Jun
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Teng
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Nuclear Analytical Techniques, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Bin-Bin
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Nie
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Nuclear Analytical Techniques, Institute of High Energy Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Bao-Ci
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Shan
authors.affiliation: Department of Critical Care Medicine, Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Jie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yan
authors.affiliation: Department of Critical Care Medicine, Wuxi People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Wuxi, Jiangsu, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: Biomedical Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Gavin P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Affiliated ZhongDa Hospital of Southeast University, Nanjing, Jiangsu, China. Electronic address: zhijunzhang838@yahoo.com.cn.
authors.forename: Zhi-Jun
authors.initials: ZJ
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002560:Cerebrovascular Circulation / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D015283:Citalopram / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008426:Maternal Deprivation; D010100:Oxygen / Q000097:blood; D011897:Random Allocation; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D035501:Uncertainty
chemical_list: D018687:Antidepressive Agents, Second-Generation; D015283:Citalopram; D010100:Oxygen
keywords: Blood oxygen level-dependent; Depression; Escitalopram; Magnetic resonance imaging; Rat