Blunted amygdala activity is associated with depression severity in treatment-resistant depression.
Jamie M Ferri, Stuart J. Eisendrath, Susanna L Fryer, Erin P Gillung, Brian J Roach, Daniel H. Mathalon
Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience December 2017 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-017-0544-6 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 117 |
| Population | Adults with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (n = 80) and healthy controls (n = 37) |
| Interventions | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) Health enhancement program (HEP) |
| Duration | 8-week intervention with 52-week follow-up |
| Topics | Depression |
| Keywords | Affect labeling Amygdala Emotion Faces Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy |
| Key findings | TRD patients showed blunted amygdala activation during affect labeling compared with healthy controls, and this blunting was associated with greater depression severity. MBCT produced greater short-term depression reductions than HEP, but the advantage was not significant at 52 weeks; baseline amygdala reactivity predicted long-term depression severity in both groups. |
Abstract
Up to 50% of individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD) do not recover after two antidepressant medication trials, and therefore meet the criteria for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is one promising treatment; however, the extent to which MBCT influences clinical outcomes relative to baseline neural activation remains unknown. In the present study we investigated baseline differences in amygdala activation between TRD patients and healthy controls (HCs), related amygdala activation to depression symptoms, and examined the impacts of MBCT and amygdala activation on longitudinal depression outcomes. At baseline, TRD patients (n = 80) and HCs (n = 37) participated in a functional magnetic resonance imaging task in which they identified either the emotion (affect labeling) or the gender (gender labeling) of faces, or passively viewed faces (observing). The TRD participants then completed eight weeks of MBCT or a health enhancement program (HEP). Relative to HCs, the TRD patients demonstrated less amygdala activation during affect labeling, and marginally less during gender labeling. Blunted amygdala activation in TRD patients during affect labeling was associated with greater depression severity. MBCT was associated with greater depression reductions than was HEP directly following treatment; however, at 52 weeks the treatment effect was not significant, and baseline amygdala activation across the task conditions predicted depression severity in both groups. TRD patients have blunted amygdala responses during affect labeling that are associated with greater concurrent depression. Furthermore, although MBCT produced greater short-term improvements in depression than did HEP, overall baseline amygdala reactivity was predictive of long-term clinical outcomes in both groups.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on depression, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 5
- Molecular Mechanisms of Psilocybin and Implications for the Treatment of Depression CNS Drugs November 17, 2021
- Functional connectivity between the amygdala and subgenual cingulate gyrus predicts the antidepressant effects of ketamine in patients with treatment‐resistant depression Neuropsychopharmacology Reports February 21, 2021
- Functional MRI markers for treatment-resistant depression: Insights and challenges. Progress in Brain Research 2023
- Neural correlates of mindfulness meditation and hypnosis on magnetic resonance imaging: similarities and differences. A scoping review. Journal of neuroradiology = Journal de neuroradiologie March 1, 2024
- Rethinking the Treatment-Resistant Depression. Advances in experimental medicine and biology 2026
Cites 4
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- Regulation of neural responses to emotion perception by ketamine in individuals with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder Translational Psychiatry February 17, 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