Evaluation of major depressive disorder using 7 Tesla phase sensitive neuroimaging before and after mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.
Angela Jakary, Janine M Lupo, Scott Mackin, Audrey Yin, Donna Murray, Tony T. Yang, Pratik Mukherjee, Peder Larson, Duan Xu, Stuart J. Eisendrath, Tracy Luks, Yan Li
Journal of Affective Disorders August 15, 2023 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2023.05.038 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 31 |
| Population | Seventeen unmedicated adults with major depressive disorder and fourteen healthy controls |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) |
| Topics | Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | 7 tesla Iron Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy Phase |
| Key findings | Higher brain iron levels, indicated by lower local field shift values, were associated with greater depression severity and worse attention in unmedicated MDD participants, who also showed lower baseline LFS in the left globus pallidus and left putamen than healthy controls. All participants experienced depression relief after MBCT, and lower baseline LFS in the right caudate predicted greater improvement in depression severity. |
Abstract
We applied 7 Tesla phase sensitive imaging to evaluate the impact of brain iron levels on depression severity and cognitive function in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) treated with mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT). Seventeen unmedicated MDD participants underwent MRI, evaluation of depression severity, and cognitive testing before and after receiving MBCT, compared to fourteen healthy controls (HC). Local field shift (LFS) values, measures of brain iron levels, were derived from phase images in the putamen, caudate, globus pallidus (GP), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and thalamus. Compared to the HC group, the MDD group had significantly lower baseline LFS (indicative of higher iron) in the left GP and left putamen and had a higher number of subjects with impairment in a test of information processing speed. In the MDD group, lower LFS values in the left and right ACC, right putamen, right GP, and right thalamus were significantly associated with depression severity; and lower LFS in the right GP was correlated with worse performance on measures of attention. All MBCT participants experienced depression relief. MBCT treatment also significantly improved executive function and attention. MBCT participants with lower baseline LFS values in the right caudate experienced significantly greater improvement in depression severity with treatment; and those with lower LFS values in the right ACC, right caudate, and right GB at baseline performed better on measures of verbal learning and memory after MBCT. Our study highlights the potential contribution of subtle differences in brain iron to MDD symptoms and their successful treatment.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on depression, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Metacognitive awareness and prevention of relapse in depression: Empirical evidence. Residually depressed patients and nondepressed controls; recovered depressed patients | 2002 | Observational cohort with intervention components | |
| Psilocybin for treatment-resistant depression: fMRI-measured brain mechanisms. Patients with treatment-resistant depression | 2017 | Observational cohort | n = 19 |
| Antidepressant effects of a single dose of ayahuasca in patients with recurrent depression: a preliminary report Patients with a depressive disorder | 2015 | Observational study | |
| Concomitant BDNF and sleep slow wave changes indicate ketamine-induced plasticity in major depressive disorder Patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder | 2012 | Observational cohort | n = 30 |
| Altered peripheral immune profiles in treatment-resistant depression: response to ketamine and prediction of treatment outcome Healthy controls and actively depressed patients with treatment-resistant depression... | 2017 | Observational cohort | n = 59 |
Citations in the library
Cites 3
- Evaluating metabolites in patients with major depressive disorder who received mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and healthy controls using short echo MRSI at 7 Tesla. Magma June 2016
- A Preliminary Study: Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy versus Sertraline as First-line Treatments for Major Depressive Disorder. Mindfulness June 1, 2015
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) versus the health-enhancement program (HEP) for adults with treatment-resistant depression: a randomized control trial study protocol BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine March 11, 2014