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Armand S, Langley C, Johansen A, Ozenne B, Overgaard-Hansen O, Larsen K, Jensen PS, Knudsen GM, Sahakian BJ, Stenbæk DS, Fisher PM. Functional brain responses to emotional faces after three to five weeks of intake of escitalopram in healthy individuals: a double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised study. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3149. [PMID: 38326352 PMCID: PMC10850508 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-51448-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 01/04/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Short-term intake of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) modulates threat-related amygdala responses in healthy individuals. However, how SSRI intake over a clinically relevant time period modulates threat-related amygdala responses is less clear. In a semi-randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled study of 64 healthy individuals (SSRI n = 32, placebo n = 32), we examined the effect of 3-5 weeks of SSRI escitalopram (20 mg daily) on brain response to angry, fearful and neutral faces using BOLD fMRI. Data was analysed using a whole-brain region-wise approach extracting standardised effects (i.e., Cohen's D). The study was conducted at the Copenhagen University Hospital. A priori, we hypothesised that SSRI would attenuate amygdala responses to angry and fearful faces but not to neutral ones. Whether SSRI modulates correlations between amygdala responses to emotional faces and negative mood states was also explored. Compared to placebo, 3-5 weeks of SSRI intake did not significantly affect the amygdala response to angry, fearful, or neutral faces (|Cohen's D|< 0.2, PFWER = 1). Whole-brain, region-wise analyses revealed significant differences in frontal (|Cohen's D|< 0.6, PFWER < .01) and occipital regions (|Cohen's D|< 0.5, PFWER < .01). SSRI did not modulate correlations between amygdala responses to emotional faces and negative mood states. Our findings indicate that a 3-5 week SSRI intake impacts cortical responses to emotional stimuli, an effect possibly involved in SSRI's therapeutic efficacy.Trial registration Clinical Trials NCT04239339.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophia Armand
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Annette Johansen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Brice Ozenne
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Section of Biostatistics, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Oliver Overgaard-Hansen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Kristian Larsen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Peter Steen Jensen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Gitte Moos Knudsen
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Dea Siggard Stenbæk
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - Patrick MacDonald Fisher
- Neurobiology Research Unit, Copenhagen University Hospital Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Department of Drug Design and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Stenbæk DS, Fisher PM, Budtz-Jørgensen E, Pinborg A, Hjordt LV, Jensen PS, Knudsen GM, Frokjaer VG. Sex hormone manipulation slows reaction time and increases labile mood in healthy women. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2016; 68:39-46. [PMID: 26943343 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2016.02.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2015] [Revised: 01/23/2016] [Accepted: 02/22/2016] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Women show increased risk of depressive symptoms in life phases where ovarian steroid hormone levels fluctuate or decline rapidly. The risk mechanisms may include changes in mental state and affective cognition possibly mediated by serotonergic neurotransmission. METHODS In a randomized controlled double-blinded trial, 61 healthy women (mean age 24.3±4.9 years) were tested with measures of affective verbal memory, reaction time, mental distress, and serotonin transporter binding at baseline and at follow-up after receiving gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRHa) or placebo intervention. Women also reported daily mood profiles during intervention. We tested direct effects of intervention and indirect effects through changes in serotonin transporter binding on verbal affective memory, simple reaction time and self-reported measures of mental distress, and further effects of GnRHa on daily mood. RESULTS GnRHa induced an increase in simple reaction time (p=0.03) and more pronounced fluctuations in daily self-reported mood in a manner dependent on baseline mood (p=0.003). Verbal affective memory recall, overall self-perceived mental distress, and serotonin transporter binding were not affected. CONCLUSIONS In healthy women transient sex-steroid hormone fluctuations decrease speed of information processing and further produce more labile mood only in women with elevated levels of mood disturbances at baseline.
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Affiliation(s)
- D S Stenbæk
- Neurobiology Research Unit and Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark; Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.
| | - P M Fisher
- Neurobiology Research Unit and Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark.
| | - E Budtz-Jørgensen
- Department of Biostatistics, University of Copenhagen, Oster Farimagsgade 5, 1014 Copenhagen K, Denmark.
| | - A Pinborg
- Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark; Fertility Department, Copenhagen University Hospital, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark.
| | - L V Hjordt
- Neurobiology Research Unit and Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark; Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.
| | - P S Jensen
- Neurobiology Research Unit and Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark.
| | - G M Knudsen
- Neurobiology Research Unit and Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark; Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Blegdamsvej 3B, 2200 Copenhagen N, Denmark.
| | - V G Frokjaer
- Neurobiology Research Unit and Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark.
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Stenbæk DS, Einarsdottir HS, Goregliad-Fjaellingsdal T, Knudsen GM, Frokjaer VG, Hasselbalch SG. Evaluation of acute tryptophan depletion and sham depletion with a gelatin-based collagen peptide protein mixture. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2016; 26:147-149. [PMID: 26655163 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2015.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2015] [Accepted: 11/13/2015] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Acute Tryptophan Depletion (ATD) is a dietary method used to modulate central 5-HT to study the effects of temporarily reduced 5-HT synthesis. The aim of this study is to evaluate a novel method of ATD using a gelatin-based collagen peptide (CP) mixture. We administered CP-Trp or CP+Trp mixtures to 29 healthy volunteers; 13 from a randomized, double-blinded crossover study and sixteen from a randomized, double-blinded study run in our laboratory. Plasma amino acids, mood, side effects, cortisol concentrations, mean arterial blood pressure and heart rate were measured at multiple time-points. Repeated measures analysis of variance and Wilcoxon or Mann-Whitney U non-parametric tests were used to analyze the effects of intervention. Intake of the CP-Trp mixture efficiently reduced plasma Trp; however, the CP+Trp mixture induced a large significant increase in plasma Trp. No other significant effects of CP-Trp compared to CP+Trp were observed. The transient increase in plasma Trp after CP+Trp may impair comparison to the CP-Trp and we therefore recommend in future studies to use a smaller dose of Trp supplement to the CP mixture.
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Affiliation(s)
- D S Stenbæk
- Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging & Neurobiology Research Unit, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark.
| | - H S Einarsdottir
- Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging & Neurobiology Research Unit, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - T Goregliad-Fjaellingsdal
- Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging & Neurobiology Research Unit, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - G M Knudsen
- Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging & Neurobiology Research Unit, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - V G Frokjaer
- Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging & Neurobiology Research Unit, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - S G Hasselbalch
- Center for Integrated Molecular Brain Imaging & Neurobiology Research Unit, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark; Faculty of Health and Medical Science, University of Copenhagen, Denmark; Danish Dementia Research Centre, Rigshospitalet, Blegdamsvej 9, 2100 Copenhagen, Denmark
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