Neuropsychology of affective disorders

Deficits in doors P300 amplitude during adolescence associated with preschool-onset depression

The psychophysiological underpinnings of preschool-onset depression (PO-MDD) remain underexplored. Moreover, there is currently a limited understanding of the potential impact that PO-MDD might have on neurobiological functions later in development such as general cognitive domains and reward processing. Thus, the current study sought to examine potential neurophysiological differences, measured via electroencephalography (EEG), in adolescents with and without a history of PO-MDD. Participants and their caregivers (N = 138) from a large longitudinal study completed semi-structured clinical interviews at a baseline visit (ages 3-7) to determine PO-MDD status. At a follow-up visit approximately 11 years later, adolescents (ages 13-19) completed the doors gambling task while EEG was recorded to measure event-related potentials (ERPs) elicited by both the doors and feedback stimuli, to index cognitive and reward processing functions (i.e., doors-P300, gain/loss feedback-P300, and RewP). Adolescents with a history of PO-MDD exhibited significantly smaller doors-P300 compared with adolescents with no history of PO-MDD, whereas there were no group differences in gain/loss feedback-P300 or RewP. Additionally, reduced doors-P300 was independently associated with lower baseline income-to-needs ratio, older age, and female gender. The current study suggests that reduced doors-P300 amplitude during adolescence might reflect impaired neurophysiological development related to PO-MDD. Thus, the P300 derived from the doors stimuli might be a valuable neural measure to further our understanding of potential neurophysiological differences associated with early-onset childhood depression.

[Current approaches in the treatment and rehabilitation of patients with neurological diseases after COVID-19. Resolution of the International Experts Forum]

Despite the significant shift in global attention away from the pandemic, the problem of a new coronavirus infection remains important in the medical community. Almost 3 years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic the issues of rehabilitation and management of delayed manifestations and sequelae of the disease are especially important. According to numerous available data, the new coronavirus infection is characterized by multiorgan lesions. Respiratory dysfunction, clotting disorders, myocardial dysfunction and various arrhythmias, acute coronary syndrome, acute renal failure, GI disorders, hepatocellular damage, hyperglycemia and ketosis, dermatological complications, ophthalmological symptoms and neurological disorders may be found. Significant prevalence of the latter in the post-coronavirus period necessitated this International Expert Forum to develop unified approaches to the management of patients with neurological complications and sequelae of new coronavirus infection based on practical experience and considering the scientific information available on COVID-19. The expert council developed a resolution formulating the tactics for the management of patients with neurological manifestations of COVID-19.

Reduced P300 amplitude is consistently associated with trait anhedonia across repeated assessments

Understanding how event-related potentials (ERPs) change following repeated assessments is critical to advance our understanding of neural mechanisms implicated in psychopathology. Specifically, it is unclear if associations between ERPs and individual differences can be reproduced when repeatedly measured within the same participants, or if clinical characteristics impact ERP trajectories over repeated assessments. The present study assessed P300 amplitude and latency from a flanker task at four time points over one month (M = 7.24 days between assessments [SD = 1.02]) in 79 female undergraduates to examine how P300 amplitude/latency changes across repeated assessments, the presence of associations between within- and between-subjects measures of current depressive symptoms and the P300, and if between-subjects depressive symptoms moderated change in P300 over repeated assessment. Results using multilevel modeling indicated a significant reduction in P300 amplitude and latency across assessments. Individuals with increased trait anhedonia (i.e., between-subjects) exhibited reduced P300 amplitudes across assessments; there were no associations of within-subjects fluctuations in anhedonia symptoms and P300 amplitude across assessments. There was also no interaction between number of assessments and between-subjects anhedonia in relation to P300 amplitude. Unlike anhedonia, between-subjects dysphoria was unrelated to P300. These results demonstrate a relatively specific and consistent association between an attenuated P300 amplitude and trait anhedonia across repeated assessments - data that may further suggest that flanker P300 amplitude reflects hedonic and motivational processes.

The P300 and late positive potential in pregnancy prospectively predict increases in depressive and anxious symptoms in the early postpartum period

Postnatal depression and anxiety disorders pose a major burden on maternal mental health. While psychosocial risk factors for perinatal depression and anxiety are well-researched, there is a dearth of research examining neural biomarkers of risk for postnatal increases in depression and anxiety. Previous studies suggest two different event-related potentials, the P300 and the late positive potential (LPP), may predict the course of depressive and anxious symptoms in non-perinatal populations. In a sample of 221 perinatal women, the present study utilized an emotional interrupt task administered in pregnancy to examine whether antenatal P300 and LPP amplitudes may predict change in depressive and anxious symptoms from pregnancy to the early postpartum period. Zero-order correlations and linear regressions revealed that a reduced antenatal P300 to target stimuli and an enhanced LPP to positive infant images were uniquely associated with postnatal depressive and anxiety symptoms, respectively, and that these ERPs were independent predictors beyond antenatal self-report measures of psychological symptoms. Furthermore, individuals with increased depressive symptoms in pregnancy exhibited a stronger negative association between antenatal P300 amplitude and postnatal depressive symptoms. The present findings underscore the possibility that the measurement of ERPs during pregnancy could serve as a screening tool for risk for perinatal depression and anxiety, and thereby assist with identifying at-risk individuals who might benefit from prevention efforts.

A combination of P300 and eye movement data improves the accuracy of auxiliary diagnoses of depression

BACKGROUND

Exploratory eye movements (EEMs) and P300 are often used to facilitate the clinical diagnosis of depression. However, There were few studies using the combination of EEMs and P300 to build a model for detecting depression and predicting a curative effect.

METHODS

Sixty patients were recruited for 2 groups: high frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation(rTMS) combined with paroxetine group and simple paroxetine group. Clinical efficacy was evaluated by the Hamilton Depression scale-24(HAMD-24), EEMs and P300. The classification model of the auxiliary diagnosis of depression and the prediction model of the two treatments were developed based on a machine learning algorithm.

RESULTS

The classification model with the greatest accuracy for patients with depression and healthy controls was 95.24% (AUC = 0.75, recall = 1.00, precision = 0.95, F1-score = 0.97). The root mean square error (RMSE) of the model for predicting the efficacy of high frequency rTMS combined with paroxetine was 3.54 (MAE [mean absolute error] = 2.56, R² = -0.53). The RMSE of the model for predicting the efficacy of paroxetine was 4.97 (MAE = 4.00, R² = -0.91).

CONCLUSION

Based on the machine learning algorithm, P300 and EEMs data was suitable for modeling to distinguish depression patients and healthy individuals. However, it was not suitable for predicting the efficacy of high frequency rTMS combined with paroxetine or to predict the efficacy of paroxetine.

Doors P300 moderates the relationship between reward positivity and current depression status in adults

BACKGROUND

Previous research has found deficits in both the reward positivity (RewP) and P300 components of the event-related potential (ERP) in relation to depression. The current study examined whether the P300, elicited from imperative stimuli in a gambling task, relates to depression - and can be utilized in tandem with the RewP to better account for individual differences in depression.

METHODS

In the current study, 80 adults with current depression (M_age = 39.65, 79% female) and 43 healthy controls (M_age = 37.02, 81% female) completed clinical interviews, self-report questionnaires, and the doors gambling task while EEG was recorded.

RESULTS

Results indicated a reduced P300 to doors stimuli (i.e., doors P300) in depression, especially among depressed individuals reporting heightened anhedonia. Gain and loss feedback P300s did not differ between groups. Moreover, the doors P300 moderated the association between RewP and depression status: individuals with relatively intact reward processing (i.e., larger RewP) were more likely to be currently depressed if they exhibited a reduced P300.

LIMITATIONS

The majority of the sample identified as Caucasian which reduces generalizability of current results. Additionally, the current study is cross sectional design which limits insight into how these ERPs coincide with changes in the disorder.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study demonstrates that a novel P300 component to the doors stimulus appears to be blunted in currently depressed individuals, and that using the doors P300 in combination with the RewP accounts for significantly more variance in depression.

Blunted Flanker P300 Demonstrates Specificity to Depressive Symptoms in Females during Adolescence

Recent research suggests that depressive disorders in adults are characterized by reductions in flanker P300 amplitude, and that a reduced flanker P300 may also predict worst depressive trajectories over time. The current study extended this work to adolescence-and to evaluate the specificity of the relationship between flanker P300 to depressive symptoms versus anxiety symptoms, and whether the association between flanker P300 and depressive symptoms was moderated by biological sex. To this end, P300 amplitude, depression, anxiety, and sex were assessed in a large sample of 619 adolescents aged 11 to 14. Participants completed a speeded response flanker task while EEG was recorded, as well as self-reported measures of current depression and anxiety symptoms. Reduced P300 amplitude was related to both heightened depression and anxiety symptoms in zero-order correlations. Regression-based analyses suggest that reduced P300 was uniquely related to depressive symptoms. Furthermore, this negative association between P300 and depression was apparent in female adolescents, but not male adolescents. In sum, the current study suggests that flanker P300 amplitude may potentially serve as a neural marker specific to depression in females during adolescence.

RETRACTED: Human Suicide, Modern Diagnosis Assistance and Magic Bullet Discovery

The article entitled “Human Suicide, Modern Diagnosis Assistance and Magic Bullet Discovery”, by Da-Yong Lu, Peng- Peng Zhu, Hong-Ying Wu, Nagendra Sastry Yarla, Bin Xu, Jian Ding, Ajit Varki and Ting-Ren Lu, has been retracted on the request of the co-authors, Dr. Ajit Varki, Dr. Nagendra Sastry Yarla and Dr. Jian Ding available at: Cent Nerv Syst Agents Med Chem 2019; 19(1): 15-23. http://www.eurekaselect.com/169003/article. The Corresponding Author Dr. Da-Yong Lu has included the names of the co-authors, Dr. Ajit Varki, Dr. Nagendra Sastry Yarla and Dr. Jian Ding without their consent and the manuscript has been published in the journal, Central Nervous System Agents in Medicinal Chemistry (CNSAMC). Kindly see Bentham Science Policy on Article retraction at the link given below: (https://benthamscience.com/journals/central-nervous-system-agents-in-medicinal-chemistry/author-guidelines/) Submission of a manuscript to the respective journals implies that all authors have read and agreed to the content of the Copyright Letter or the Terms and Conditions. As such, this article represents a severe abuse of the scientific publishing system. Bentham Science Publishers takes a very strong view on this matter and apologizes to the readers of the journal for any inconvenience this may cause.

The Influence of Planning and Response Inhibition on Cognitive Functioning of Non-Psychotic Unipolar Depressed Suicide Attempters

Depression is one of the main risk factors for suicide. However, little is known about the intricate relationships among depressive symptomatology in unipolar depression, suicide risk, and the characteristics of executive dysfunction in depressed patients. We compared 20 non-psychotic unipolar depressed suicide attempters to 20 matching depressed non-attempters and to 20 healthy controls to further investigate the possible differences in neuropsychological performance. Depressed subjects were controlled for current suicidal ideation, and their neuropsychological profile was assessed using a range of measures of executive functioning, attention, verbal memory, processing speed, and psychomotor speed. Depressed groups were outperformed by healthy controls. Depressed attempters presented more cognitive impairment than depressed non-attempters on a simple Go/No-go response inhibition task and performed better than non-attempters on the Tower of London planning task. Depressed attempters were clearly distinguished by a deficit in response inhibition (Go/No-go commission errors). The normative planning performance (Tower of London extra moves) of the suicide attempters was unexpected, and this unanticipated finding calls for further research. Normative planning may indicate an increased risk of suicidal behavior.

Disrupted reward circuits is associated with cognitive deficits and depression severity in major depressive disorder

Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that major depressive disorder (MDD) patients show blunted activity responses to reward-related tasks. However, whether abnormal reward circuits affect cognition and depression in MDD patients remains unclear. Seventy-five drug-naive MDD patients and 42 cognitively normal (CN) subjects underwent a resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. The bilateral nucleus accumbens (NAc) were selected as seeds to construct reward circuits across all subjects. A multivariate linear regression analysis was employed to investigate the neural substrates of cognitive function and depression severity on the reward circuits in MDD patients. The common pathway underlying cognitive deficits and depression was identified with conjunction analysis. Compared with CN subjects, MDD patients showed decreased reward network connectivity that was primarily located in the prefrontal-striatal regions. Importantly, distinct and common neural pathways underlying cognition and depression were identified, implying the independent and synergistic effects of cognitive deficits and depression severity on reward circuits. This study demonstrated that disrupted topological organization within reward circuits was significantly associated with cognitive deficits and depression severity in MDD patients. These findings suggest that in addition to antidepressant treatment, normalized reward circuits should be a focus and a target for improving depression and cognitive deficits in MDD patients.

Cognitive impairment in major depression and the mGlu2 receptor as a therapeutic target

Cognitive impairment, in particular of attention and memory, is often reported by patients suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) and deficits in attention are part of the current diagnostic criteria of MDD. Objectively measured cognitive deficits associated with MDD have been described in many studies. They have been conceptualized as an integral facet and epiphenomenon of MDD. However, evidence accumulated in recent years has challenged this notion and demonstrated that in a subset of patients the degree of cognitive deficits cannot be accounted for by the severity of depression. In addition, in some patients cognitive deficits persist despite resolution of depressive symptomatology. It is plausible to assume that cognitive deficits contribute to functional impairment even though supportive data for such a relationship are lacking. However, the exact association between cognitive deficits and major depression and the clinical and neurobiological characteristics of patients with MDD in whom cognitive deficits seem partially or fully independent of the clinical manifestation of depressive symptoms remain poorly understood. This review focuses on objective measures of non-emotional cognitive deficits in MDD and discusses the presence of a subgroup of patients in whom these symptoms can be defined independently and in dissociation from the rest of the depressive symptomatology. The current understanding of brain circuits and molecular events implicated in cognitive impairment in MDD are discussed with an emphasis on the missing elements that could further define the specificity of cognitive impairment in MDD and lead to new therapeutics. Furthermore, this article presents in detail observations made in behavioral studies in rodents with potential novel therapeutic agents, such as negative allosteric modulators at the metabotropic glutamate receptor type 2/3 (mGlu2/3 NAM) which exhibit both cognitive enhancing and antidepressant properties. Such a compound, RO4432717, was tested in tests of short term memory (delayed match to position), cognitive flexibility (Morris water maze, reversal protocol), impulsivity and compulsivity (5-choice serial reaction time) and spontaneous object recognition in rodents, providing first evidence of a profile potentially relevant to address cognitive impairment in MDD. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled 'Cognitive Enhancers'.

Reward and punishment processing in depression

Depression is a complex and heterogeneous disorder whose cause is poorly understood. Theories on the mechanisms of the disease have often focused on either its neurobiology or its cognitive and behavioral manifestations. Recently, studies exploring how depressed patients process reward and punishment have linked these two facets together. It has been suggested that individuals with a dysfunction in a specialized network of brain regions are unable to exploit affective information to guide behavior. Deficits in this ability might predispose such individuals to develop depression, whereas subsequent restoration of this ability--whether through pharmacological or behavioral treatments--might enable recovery from the disorder. Here we review behavioral, neuroimaging, and computational findings relevant to this hypothesis. There is good evidence that depressed patients exhibit abnormal behavioral responses to rewards and punishments and that these tendencies correspond to aberrant function in frontostriatal systems modulated by the monoamine systems. Furthermore, computational studies have generated testable predictions for how these neural signaling and neurochemical abnormalities might contribute to the symptoms of depression. Combining these approaches--as well as molecular and behavioral work in animals--provides great promise for furthering our understanding of this common and debilitating disease.