Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging
July 1, 2025
Anna Monn, Corinne Eicher, Annia Rüesch et al.
2 citations
A higher percentage of EEG vigilance stage A1, a measure of brain activity, is associated with response to intravenous ketamine in major depression. In a phase-2 randomized controlled trial of oral prolonged-release ketamine for treatment-resistant depression, no significant interaction between response and treatment was found for this EEG marker. However, a small-scale meta-analysis showed a significant pooled mean difference between ketamine responders and non-responders. Applying a previously proposed A1 cutoff of 43% yielded chance-level prediction accuracy in the combined ketamine group but 75% accuracy in the 240 mg subgroup. Responders to 240 mg ketamine also showed more stable vigilance over time. These findings support EEG vigilance as a predictive biomarker for treatment outcomes in depression, though further validation is needed.
Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging
March 1, 2025
Michael Datko, Jacqueline Lutz, Richa Gawande et al.
1 citation
Mindfulness training for primary care patients with anxiety or depression increased activity in the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex when anticipating pain, and this brain change was strongly linked to initiating health behavior changes. Greater increases in this brain response correlated with higher levels of action plan initiation, suggesting that mindfulness strengthens emotion regulation and goal-directed behavior in the face of discomfort.
Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging
August 1, 2026
Kengo Yonezawa, Shinichiro Nakajima, Shuhei Shibukawa et al.
In patients with treatment-resistant depression, higher baseline levels of magnetic substances in the right nucleus accumbens and the left amygdala, measured by brain imaging, predicted a greater reduction in specific depressive symptoms after repeated ketamine infusions. The study included 17 Japanese patients and used a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled design followed by an open-label phase. Baseline magnetic susceptibility in the right nucleus accumbens correlated with improvement in retardation symptoms, while baseline R2* in the left amygdala correlated with improvement in vegetative symptoms. These brain markers may help predict which patients will benefit from ketamine treatment.
Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging
October 1, 2025
Zhaohua Chen, Chun Cui, Xiaoxiao Sun et al.
A newly developed therapy, loving-kindness meditation integrating cognition and behavior (LKM-CB), improved clinical depression in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). In study 1, 30 MDD patients who received 8 weeks of LKM-CB showed significantly greater improvement in depression compared to 31 controls. Study 2, involving 16 MDD patients, used brain imaging to explore neural changes. After LKM-CB, patients showed reduced activation in frontal-striatal regions (orbitofrontal cortex, anterior cingulate, insula) during reward outcomes and anticipation after loss, but increased activation in frontal-striatal regions and hippocampus during loss outcomes and anticipation after win. The findings suggest LKM-CB alters reward-related brain activity, offering a feasible non-pharmacological therapy for MDD.
Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging
October 1, 2025
Clemens C C Bauer, Jiahe Zhang, Francesca Morfini et al.
Auditory hallucinations affect 60-80% of schizophrenia patients and often resist antipsychotic treatment. This randomized, sham-controlled trial tested whether real-time fMRI neurofeedback targeting the superior temporal gyrus, combined with mindfulness meditation, produces specific neural changes beyond placebo. Twenty-three adults with medication-resistant hallucinations practiced mindfulness meditation while receiving neurofeedback from either the superior temporal gyrus or motor cortex. Both groups reported reduced hallucinations after neurofeedback, with no group differences in symptom reduction. However, real neurofeedback produced greater reductions in secondary auditory cortex activation and connectivity between auditory cortex and cognitive control regions (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate), which persisted in a crossover condition. Mindfulness meditation independently reduced primary auditory cortex activation. Region-specific neurofeedback targeting modulates auditory-cognitive control networks, potentially restoring the balance between bottom-up sensory processing and top-down control.
Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging
March 1, 2023
Alan N. Francis, J. Camprodon, Francesca Filbey PhD
Cannabis users show deficits in decision-making that are linked to hyperconnectivity in corticocerebellar brain networks, particularly between the posterior cerebellum and regions involved in reward and self-control. In a study comparing 92 cannabis users with 92 non-users using high-resolution 7 Tesla MRI, users scored higher on the Iowa Gambling Task percentage of larger rewards and lower on percentage of smaller rewards, and had larger left nucleus accumbens volume. Resting-state functional connectivity was enhanced between the left cerebellum region 9 and the right nucleus accumbens, left pallidum, and left putamen, as well as between the posterior cerebellum and default mode network nodes. White matter microstructure showed no significant differences. These findings suggest that altered cerebellar connectivity may underlie decision-making problems in cannabis users, potentially contributing to difficulty quitting or relapse.
Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging
December 1, 2022
Michael Datko, Jacqueline Lutz, Richa Gawande et al.
An 8-week Mindfulness Training for Primary Care (MTPC) program altered brain activity during interoceptive attention in adults with anxiety and/or depression. After training, fMRI scans showed increased response in the left anterior insula when participants focused on their heartbeat compared to a visual task. Among patients with moderate-to-severe depression, this increased insula response was linked to greater Body Trusting—a sense of trusting one's own body sensations and viewing the body as a safe place to attend to. The findings suggest that depression severity influences how patients respond to mindfulness-based treatment, and that cultivating body trust may be a key component for those with more severe depression.
Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging
November 1, 2021
Tina Chou, Darin D. Dougherty, A. Nierenberg et al.
Individuals with bipolar disorder (BP) show abnormally positive coupling between the default mode network (DMN) and task positive network (TPN), two brain networks that are normally anti-correlated. After 12 weeks of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), BP participants exhibited restored negative coupling between these networks, similar to healthy controls. Supportive psychotherapy produced no significant change. The finding suggests MBCT can normalize DMN-TPN connectivity in BP.
Psychiatry research. Neuroimaging
July 23, 2020
K. Williams, R. Elliott, S. Mckie et al.
After mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), people in remission from major depressive disorder showed reduced brain activation in the bilateral dorsal anterior cingulate and medial superior frontal gyrus when blaming themselves compared to blaming others. Increased self-kindness after MBCT correlated with reduced activation in the posterior cingulate cortex and precuneus during self-blame. These findings suggest MBCT may alter neural responses to self-blame, possibly through increasing self-kindness. The study was small, with 16 participants, and lacked a control group, so results require confirmation.