Cerebellar responses during anticipation of noxious stimuli in subjects recovered from depression. Functional magnetic resonance imaging study.

Journal article

BACKGROUND: Subjects recovered from depression have a substantial risk for recurrence of depression, suggesting persistent abnormalities in brain activity. AIMS: To test whether women recovered from depression show abnormal brain activity in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a conditioning paradigm with a noxious pain stimulus. METHOD: Ten unmedicated women who had recovered from major depression and eight healthy control women each received either noxious hot or non-noxious warm stimuli, the onset of which was signalled by a specific coloured light during 3-tesla echo planar imaging-based fMRI. RESULTS: Similar patterns of brain activation were found during painful stimulation for both patients and healthy controls. However, relative to healthy controls, subjects recovered from depression showed a reduced response in the cerebellum during anticipation of the noxious stimulus compared with anticipation of the non-noxious stimulus. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that abnormal cerebellar function could be a marker of vulnerability to recurrent depression. This could provide a new target for therapeutic interventions.

Authors: Smith, K; Ploghaus, A; Cowen, P; McCleery, J; Goodwin, G

• Publication status: Published
• Journal: British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science
• Volume: 181
• Issue: NOV.
• Pages: 411-415
• Publication date: 2002-11-01
• DOI: 10.1192/bjp.181.5.411
• EISSN: 1472-1465
• ISSN: 0007-1250
• Language: English
• Keywords: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Adult; Disease Susceptibility; Cerebellum; Pain; Hot Temperature; Depressive Disorder; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Recurrence; Physical Stimulation; Female; Humans