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Meyer K, Hindi Attar C, Fiebig J, Stamm T, Bassett TR, Bauer M, Dannlowski U, Ethofer T, Falkenberg I, Jansen A, Juckel G, Kircher T, Mulert C, Leicht G, Rau A, Rauh J, Ritter D, Ritter P, Trost S, Vogelbacher C, Walter H, Wolter S, Hautzinger M, Bermpohl F. Daring to Feel: Emotion-Focused Psychotherapy Increases Amygdala Activation and Connectivity in Euthymic Bipolar Disorder-A Randomized Controlled Trial. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:750-759. [PMID: 36898634 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.02.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 02/18/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND In bipolar disorder (BD), the alternation of extreme mood states indicates deficits in emotion processing, accompanied by aberrant neural function of the emotion network. The present study investigated the effects of an emotion-centered psychotherapeutic intervention on amygdala responsivity and connectivity during emotional face processing in BD. METHODS In a randomized controlled trial within the multicentric BipoLife project, euthymic patients with BD received one of two interventions over 6 months: an unstructured, emotion-focused intervention (FEST), where patients were guided to adequately perceive and label their emotions (n = 28), or a specific, structured, cognitive behavioral intervention (SEKT) (n = 31). Before and after interventions, functional magnetic resonance imaging was conducted while patients completed an emotional face-matching paradigm (final functional magnetic resonance imaging sample of patients completing both measurements: SEKT, n = 17; FEST, n = 17). Healthy control subjects (n = 32) were scanned twice after the same interval without receiving any intervention. Given the focus of FEST on emotion processing, we expected FEST to strengthen amygdala activation and connectivity. RESULTS Clinically, both interventions stabilized patients' euthymic states in terms of affective symptoms. At the neural level, FEST versus SEKT increased amygdala activation and amygdala-insula connectivity at postintervention relative to preintervention time point. In FEST, the increase in amygdala activation was associated with fewer depressive symptoms (r = 0.72) 6 months after intervention. CONCLUSIONS Enhanced activation and functional connectivity of the amygdala after FEST versus SEKT may represent a neural marker of improved emotion processing, supporting the FEST intervention as an effective tool in relapse prevention in patients with BD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kristina Meyer
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Catherine Hindi Attar
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Jana Fiebig
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Thomas Stamm
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany; Department of Clinical Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane, Neuruppin, Germany
| | - Tyler R Bassett
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael Bauer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Udo Dannlowski
- Institute for Translational Psychiatry, University of Münster, Münster, Germany
| | - Thomas Ethofer
- University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University Clinic for Radiology Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Irina Falkenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Germany
| | - Andreas Jansen
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Germany; Core-Facility Brainimaging, Faculty of Medicine, University of Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Georg Juckel
- Department of Psychiatry, Ruhr University Bochum, LWL University Hospital, Bochum, Germany
| | - Tilo Kircher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, Germany
| | - Christoph Mulert
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany; Center for Psychiatry, Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany
| | - Gregor Leicht
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Anne Rau
- University Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jonas Rauh
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Dirk Ritter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Philipp Ritter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Sarah Trost
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; Department of Geriatric Psychiatry, Universitäre Altersmedizin FELIX PLATTER, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Christoph Vogelbacher
- Translational Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Henrik Walter
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sarah Wolter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Georg-August-University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto-von-Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Martin Hautzinger
- Department of Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Eberhard Karls University Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Felix Bermpohl
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Charité Campus Mitte, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Langenbach BP, Koelkebeck K, Knoch D. Mentalising and depression: a mini-review on behavior, neural substrates, and treatment options. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1116306. [PMID: 37398589 PMCID: PMC10308027 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1116306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2022] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Major depression is one of the most common mental disorders, affecting millions of people around the globe. In recent years, researchers increasingly investigated social cognition in depression and discovered pronounced alterations. A special focus has been put on mentalising or Theory of Mind, the ability to recognize and understand another person's thoughts and feelings. While there is behavioral evidence for deficits in this ability in patients with depression as well as specialized therapeutic interventions, the neuroscientific substrates are only beginning to be understood. In this mini-review, we take a social neuroscience perspective to analyse the importance of altered mentalising in depression and whether it can help to understand the origins and perpetuation of the disorder. We will put a special focus on treatment options and corresponding neural changes to identify relevant paths for future (neuroscientific) research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benedikt P. Langenbach
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, LVR University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Katja Koelkebeck
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Faculty of Medicine, LVR University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
- Center for Translational Neuro- and Behavioral Sciences, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany
| | - Daria Knoch
- Department of Social Neuroscience and Social Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
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