Electroconvulsive therapy effects on anhedonia and reward circuitry anatomy: A dimensional structural neuroimaging approach

Background: Anhedonia is a core symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD) resulting from maladaptive reward processing. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment for patients with MDD. No previous neuroimaging studies have taken a dimensional approach to assess whether ECT-induced v...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Cano, M, Lee, E, Worthley, A, Ellard, K, Barbour, T, Soriano-Mas, C, Camprodon, JA
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2022
País:España
Institución:Institut d’Investigació Biomèdica Sant Pau (IIB Sant Pau)
Repositorio:r-IIB SANT PAU. Repositorio Institucional de Producción Científica del Instituto de Investigación Biomédica Sant Pau
OAI Identifier:oai:iibsantpau.fundanetsuite.com:p15514
Acceso en línea:https://iibsantpau.fundanetsuite.com/Publicaciones/ProdCientif/PublicacionFrw.aspx?id=15514
https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.16.21266190
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Major depressive disorder
Anhedonia
Anticipatory pleasure
Electroconvulsive therapy
Brain morphometry
Reward system
Descripción
Sumario:Background: Anhedonia is a core symptom of major depressive disorder (MDD) resulting from maladaptive reward processing. Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an effective treatment for patients with MDD. No previous neuroimaging studies have taken a dimensional approach to assess whether ECT-induced volume changes are specifically related to improvements in anhedonia and positive valence emotional constructs. We aimed to assess the relationship between ECT-induced brain volumetric changes and improvement in anhedonia and reward processing in patients with MDD. Methods: We evaluated 15 patients with MDD before and after ECT. We used magnetic resonance imaging, clinical scales (i.e., Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology for syndromal depression severity and Snaith-Hamilton Pleasure Scale for anhedonia) and the Temporal Experience of Pleasure Scale for anticipatory and consummatory experiences of pleasure. We identified 5 regions of interest within the reward circuit and a 6th control region relevant for MDD but not core to the reward system (Brodmann Area 25). Results: Anhedonia, anticipatory and consummatory reward processing improved after ECT. Volume increases within the right reward system separated anhedonia responders and non-responders. Improvement in antici-patory (but not consummatory) reward correlated with increases in volume in hippocampus, amygdala, ventral tegmental area and nucleus accumbens. Limitations: We evaluated a modest sample size of patients with concurrent pharmacological treatment using a subjective psychometric assessment. Conclusions: We highlight the importance of a dimensional and circuit-based approach to understanding target engagement and the mechanism of action of ECT, with the goal to define symptom-and circuit-specific response biomarkers for device neuromodulation therapies.