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. 2011 Oct;32(10):1677-91.
doi: 10.1002/hbm.21135. Epub 2010 Sep 30.

Distinct functional networks associated with improvement of affective symptoms and cognitive function during citalopram treatment in geriatric depression

Andreea Oliviana Diaconescu  1 , Elisse Kramer, Carol Hermann, Yilong Ma, Vijay Dhawan, Thomas Chaly, David Eidelberg, Anthony Randal McIntosh, Gwenn S Smith
Affiliations

Distinct functional networks associated with improvement of affective symptoms and cognitive function during citalopram treatment in geriatric depression

Andreea Oliviana Diaconescu et al. Hum Brain Mapp. 2011 Oct.

Abstract

Variability in the affective and cognitive symptom response to antidepressant treatment has been observed in geriatric depression. The underlying neural circuitry is poorly understood. This study evaluated the cerebral glucose metabolic effects of citalopram treatment and applied multivariate, functional connectivity analyses to identify brain networks associated with improvements in affective symptoms and cognitive function. Sixteen geriatric depressed patients underwent resting positron emission tomography (PET) studies of cerebral glucose metabolism and assessment of affective symptoms and cognitive function before and after 8 weeks of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor treatment (citalopram). Voxel-wise analyses of the normalized glucose metabolic data showed decreased cerebral metabolism during citalopram treatment in the anterior cingulate gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, precuneus, amygdala, and parahippocampal gyrus. Increased metabolism was observed in the putamen, occipital cortex, and cerebellum. Functional connectivity analyses revealed two networks which were uniquely associated with improvement of affective symptoms and cognitive function during treatment. A subcortical-limbic-frontal network was associated with improvement in affect (depression and anxiety), while a medial temporal-parietal-frontal network was associated with improvement in cognition (immediate verbal learning/memory and verbal fluency). The regions that comprise the cognitive network overlap with the regions that are affected in Alzheimer's dementia. Thus, alterations in specific brain networks associated with improvement of affective symptoms and cognitive function are observed during citalopram treatment in geriatric depression.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Behavior PLS results (LV1): Affective measures.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Behavior PLS results (LV2): Cognitive measures.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Functional network associated with affective symptom improvement.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Functional network associated with cognitive improvement.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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