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CHANGES IN REGIONAL BRAIN ACTIVATION RELATED TO DEPRESSIVE STATE: A 2‐YEAR LONGITUDINAL FUNCTIONAL MRI STUDY
Author(s) -
Opmeer Esther M.,
Kortekaas Rudie,
Tol MarieJosé,
Renken Remco J.,
Demenescu Liliana R.,
Woudstra Saskia,
Ter Horst Gert J.,
Buchem Mark A.,
der Wee Nic J. A.,
Veltman Dick J.,
Aleman André
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
depression and anxiety
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.634
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1520-6394
pISSN - 1091-4269
DOI - 10.1002/da.22425
Subject(s) - insula , amygdala , psychology , functional magnetic resonance imaging , anterior cingulate cortex , anxiety , depression (economics) , audiology , brain activity and meditation , neuroscience , psychiatry , clinical psychology , medicine , electroencephalography , cognition , economics , macroeconomics
Background Abnormal brain activations during processing of emotional facial expressions in depressed patients have been demonstrated. We investigated the natural course of brain activation in response to emotional faces in depression, indexed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans preceding and following change in depressive state. We hypothesized a decrease in activation in the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), and insula with a decrease in depressive pathology. Methods A 2‐year longitudinal fMRI study was conducted as part of the Netherlands Study of Depression and Anxiety. We included 32 healthy controls and 49 depressed patients. During the second scan, 27 patients were in remission (remitters), the other 22 were not (nonremitters). All participants viewed faces with emotional expressions during scanning. Results Rostral ACC activation during processing of happy faces was predictive of a decrease in depressive state (P FWE = .003). In addition, remitters showed decreased activation of the insula over time (P FWE = .016), specifically during happy faces. Nonremitters displayed increased abnormalities in emotion recognition circuitry during the second scan compared to the first. No effect of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor use was observed. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that rostral ACC activation may predict changes in depressive state even at 2‐year outcome. The association between change in depressed state and change in insula activation provides further evidence for the role of the insula in a network maintaining emotional and motivational states.