Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2015;13(4):458-65.
doi: 10.2174/1570159x1304150831121909.

Brain Structural Effects of Antidepressant Treatment in Major Depression

Nicola Dusi, Stefano Barlati, Antonio Vita, Paolo Brambilla  1
Affiliations
Review

Brain Structural Effects of Antidepressant Treatment in Major Depression

Nicola Dusi et al. Curr Neuropharmacol. 2015.

Abstract

Depressive disorder is a very frequent and heterogeneous syndrome. Structural imaging techniques offer a useful tool in the comprehension of neurobiological alterations that concern depressive disorder. Altered brain structures in depressive disorder have been particularly located in the prefrontal cortex (medial prefrontal cortex and orbitofrontal cortex, OFC) and medial temporal cortex areas (hippocampus). These brain areas belong to a structural and functional network related to cognitive and emotional processes putatively implicated in depressive symptoms. These volumetric alterations may also represent biological predictors of response to pharmacological treatment. In this context, major findings of magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, in relation to treatment response in depressive disorder, will here be presented and discussed.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Aakhus E., Flottorp S.A., Oxman A.D. Implementing evidence-based guidelines for managing depression in elderly patients: a Norwegian perspective. Epidemiol. Psychiatr. Sci. 2012;21(3):237–240. doi: 10.1017/S204579601200025X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Li C.T., Bai Y.M., Huang Y.L., Chen Y.S., Chen T.J., Cheng J.Y., Su T.P. Association between antidepressant resistance in unipolar depression and subsequent bipolar disorder: cohort study. Br. J. Psychiatry. 2012;200(1):45–51. doi: 10.1192/bjp.bp.110.086983. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Brambilla P., Perez J., Barale F., Schettini G., Soares J. C. GABAergic dysfunction in mood disorders. Mol. Psychiatry. 2003;8(8):721-37–715. - PubMed
    1. Brambilla P., Cipriani A., Hotopf M., Barbui C. Side-effect profile of fluoxetine in comparison with other SSRIs, tricyclic and newer antidepressants: a meta-analysis of clinical trial data. Pharmacopsychiatry. 2005;38(2):69–77. doi: 10.1055/s-2005-837806. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Mann J.J., Malone K.M., Diehl D.J., Perel J., Cooper T.B., Mintun M.A. Demonstration in vivo of reduced serotonin responsivity in the brain of untreated depressed patients. Am. J. Psychiatry. 1996;153(2):174–182. - PubMed

Publication types

Substances