Differential contributions of circadian clock genes to cell survival in bipolar disorder patient derived neuronal progenitor cells distinguishes lithium responders and non-responders.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by disrupted circadian rhythms and neuronal loss. Lithium is neuroprotective and used to treat BD, but outcomes are variable. Past research identified that circadian rhythms in BD patient neurons are associated with lithium response (Li-R) or non-response (Li-NR). However, the underlying cellular mechanisms remain unknown. To study interactions among circadian clock genes and cell survival, and their role in BD and predicting lithium response, we tested selected genes (PER1, BMAL1 and REV-ERBα) and small molecule modulators of ROR/REV-ERB nuclear receptors in models of cell survival using mouse neurons and stem-cell derived neuronal progenitor cells (NPC) from BD patients and controls. In apoptosis assays using staurosporine (STS), lithium was neuroprotective. Knockdown of PER1, BMAL1 and REV-ERBα modified cell survival across models. In NPCs, reduced expression of PER1 and BMAL1 led to more extensive cell death in Li-NR vs. Li-R. Reduced REV-ERBα expression caused more extensive cell death in BD vs. control NPCs, without distinguishing Li-R and Li-NR. In IMHN, The REV-ERB agonist GSK4112 had strong effects on circadian rhythm amplitude, and was neuroprotective in mouse neurons and control NPCs, but not in BD NPCs. Expression of cell survival genes following STS and GSK4112 treatments revealed BD-associated, and Li-R associated differences in expression profiles. We conclude that the neuroprotective response to lithium is similar in NPCs from Li-R and Li-NR. However, knockdown of circadian clock genes or stimulation of REV-ERBs reveal distinct contributions to cell death in BD patient NPCs, some of which distinguish Li-R and Li-NR.

Unmasking patient diversity: Exploring cognitive and antidepressive effects of electroconvulsive therapy.

BACKGROUND: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is an established treatment for depression, but more data on effectiveness and safety in clinical practice is needed. The aim of this register-based study was to investigate short-term effectiveness and cognitive safety after ECT, evaluated by clinicians and patients. Secondary, we investigated predictors for remission and cognitive decline. METHODS: The study included 392 patients from the Regional Register for Neurostimulation Treatment in Western Norway. Depressive symptoms and cognitive function were assessed with Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and Mini-Mental State Examination (clinician-rated) and Beck Depression Inventory and Everyday Memory Questionnaire (patient-rated). Assessments were done prior to ECT-series and a mean of 1.7 days after (range 6 days before and 12 days after) end of ECT-series. Paired samples t-tests were extended by detailed, clinically relevant subgroups. Predictors were examined using logistic regression. RESULTS: Clinician- and patient-rated remission rates were 49.5 and 41.0%, respectively. There was a large reduction in depressive symptoms and a small improvement in cognition after ECT, but we also identified subgroups with non-response of ECT in combination with cognitive decline (4.6% clinician-rated, 15.7% patient-rated). Positive predictors for patient- and clinician-rated remission were increasing age, shorter duration of depressive episode, and psychotic features. Antipsychotic medication at the commencement of treatment and previous ECT-treatment gave higher odds of clinician-rated remission, whereas higher pretreatment subjective depression level was associated with lower odds for patient-rated remission. Clinician-rated cognitive decline was predicted by higher pretreatment MMSE scores, whereas psychotic features, increasing age, and greater pretreatment subjective memory concerns were associated with lower odds for patient-rated cognitive decline. CONCLUSIONS: Our study supports ECT as an effective and safe treatment, although subgroups have a less favorable outcome. ECT should be considered at an early stage for older patients suffering from depression with psychotic features. Providing comprehensive and balanced information from clinicians and patients perspectives on effects and side effects, may assist in a joint consent process.

Neurobiological mechanisms of ECT and TMS treatment in depression: study protocol of a multimodal magnetic resonance investigation.

BACKGROUND: Noninvasive neurostimulation treatments are increasingly being used to treat major depression, which is a common cause of disability worldwide. While electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are both effective in treating depressive episodes, their mechanisms of action are, however, not completely understood. ECT is given under general anesthesia, where an electrical pulse is administered through electrodes placed on the patient's head to trigger a seizure. ECT is used for the most severe cases of depression and is usually not prescribed before other options have failed. With TMS, brain stimulation is achieved through rapidly changing magnetic fields that induce electric currents underneath a ferromagnetic coil. Its efficacy in depressive episodes has been well documented. This project aims to identify the neurobiological underpinnings of both the effects and side effects of the neurostimulation techniques ECT and TMS. METHODS: The study will utilize a pre-post case control longitudinal design. The sample will consist of 150 subjects: 100 patients (bipolar and major depressive disorder) who are treated with either ECT (N = 50) or TMS (N = 50) and matched healthy controls (N = 50) not receiving any treatment. All participants will undergo multimodal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as well as neuropsychological and clinical assessments at multiple time points before, during and after treatment. Arterial spin labeling MRI at baseline will be used to test whether brain perfusion can predict outcomes. Signs of brain disruption, potentiation and rewiring will be explored with resting-state functional MRI, magnetic resonance spectroscopy and multishell diffusion weighted imaging (DWI). Clinical outcome will be measured by clinician assessed and patient reported outcome measures. Memory-related side effects will be investigated, and specific tests of spatial navigation to test hippocampal function will be administered both before and after treatment. Blood samples will be stored in a biobank for future analyses. The observation time is 6 months. Data will be explored in light of the recently proposed disrupt, potentiate and rewire (DPR) hypothesis. DISCUSSION: The study will contribute data and novel analyses important for our understanding of neurostimulation as well as for the development of enhanced and more personalized treatment. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT05135897.

Reduced heart rate variability during mania in a repeated naturalistic observational study.

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic recurrent mood disorder associated with autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction, indexed by heart rate variability (HRV). Changes in HRV between mood states are sparsely studied longitudinally. We aimed to compare HRV of hospitalized manic individuals with their own euthymic selves in a naturalistic observational study. Methods: 34 individuals were included, of which 16 were lost to follow-up. Ultimately 15 patients provided reliable heart rate data in both a manic and euthymic state, using photoplethysmography (PPG) sensor wristbands overnight. We calculated HRV measures Root Mean Square of Successive Differences (RMSSD), High-frequency (HF: 0.15-0.40 Hz), Low-frequency (LF: 0.40-0.15 Hz), Very low-frequency (VLF: 0.0033-0.04 Hz), Total power and Sample Entropy in 5-min night-time resting samples. We compared HRV measures by mood state within individuals using paired t-tests and linear regression to control for age and sex. Results: HRV was lower in the manic state when compared to the euthymic state for all HRV metrics (p ≤ 0.02), with large to medium effect sizes (g = 1.24 to 0.65). HRV changes were not significantly affected by age or sex. Conclusion: This longitudinal study provides evidence of lower HRV in manic states compared to euthymia, indicating an association between ANS dysregulation and changes in bipolar mood state. This corroborates previous cross-sectional studies, although the association may be less clear or reversed in hypomanic states. Further investigation in larger longitudinal samples is warranted.

Electroconvulsive therapy triggers a reversible decrease in brain N-acetylaspartate.

Introduction: Based on previous research on electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) we have proposed a model where disruption, potentiation, and rewiring of brain networks occur in sequence and serve as the underlying therapeutic mechanism of ECT. This model implies that a temporary disturbance of neuronal networks (disruption) is followed by a trophic effect (potentiation), which enables the rewiring of neuronal circuits to a more euthymic functioning brain. We hypothesized that disruption of neuronal networks could trigger biochemical alterations leading to a temporary decrease in N-acetylaspartate (tNAA, considered a marker of neuronal integrity), while choline (a membrane component), myo-Inositol (mI, astroglia marker), and glutamate/glutamine (Glx, excitatory neurotransmitter) were postulated to increase. Previous magnetic resonance spectroscopy studies, reporting diverse findings, have used two different referencing methods - creatine ratios and tissue corrected values referenced to water - for the quantification of brain metabolites. Changes in creatine during ECT have also been reported, which may confound estimates adopting this as an internal reference. Methods: Using MR spectroscopy, we investigated 31 moderately to severely depressed patients and 19 healthy controls before, during, and after ECT or at similar time points (for controls). We tested whether biochemical alterations in tNAA, choline, mI, and Glx lend support to the disrupt, potentiate, and rewire hypothesis. We used both creatine ratios and water-scaled values for the quantification of brain metabolites to validate the results across referencing methods. Results: Levels of tNAA in the anterior cingulate cortex decreased after an ECT treatment series (average 10.6 sessions) by 6% (p = 0.007, creatine ratio) and 3% (p = 0.02, water referenced) but returned to baseline 6 months after ECT. Compared to after treatment series tNAA levels at 6-month follow-up had increased in both creatine ratio (+6%, p < 0.001) and water referenced data (+7%, p < 0.001). Findings for other brain metabolites varied and could not be validated across referencing methods. Discussion: Our findings suggest that prior research must be interpreted with care, as several referencing and processing methods have been used in the past. Yet, the results for tNAA were robust across quantification methods and concur with relevant parts of the disrupt, potentiate, and rewire model.

Contributions of circadian clock genes to cell survival in fibroblast models of lithium-responsive bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by mood episodes, disrupted circadian rhythms and gray matter reduction in the brain. Lithium is an effective pharmacotherapy for BD, but not all patients respond to treatment. Lithium has neuroprotective properties and beneficial effects on circadian rhythms that may distinguish lithium responders (Li-R) from non-responders (Li-NR). The circadian clock regulates molecular pathways involved in apoptosis and cell survival, but how this overlap impacts BD and/or lithium responsiveness is unknown. In primary fibroblasts from Li-R/Li-NR BD patients and controls, we found patterns of co-expression among circadian clock and cell survival genes that distinguished BD vs. control, and Li-R vs. Li-NR cells. In cellular models of apoptosis using staurosporine (STS), lithium preferentially protected fibroblasts against apoptosis in BD vs. control samples, regardless of Li-R/Li-NR status. When examining the effects of lithium treatment of cells in vitro, caspase activation by lithium correlated with period alteration, but the relationship differed in control, Li-R and Li-NR samples. Knockdown of Per1 and Per3 in mouse fibroblasts altered caspase activity, cell death and circadian rhythms in an opposite manner. In BD cells, genetic variation in PER1 and PER3 predicted sensitivity to apoptosis in a manner consistent with knockdown studies. We conclude that distinct patterns of coordination between circadian clock and cell survival genes in BD may help predict lithium response.

Focal adhesion is associated with lithium response in bipolar disorder: evidence from a network-based multi-omics analysis.

Lithium (Li) is one of the most effective drugs for treating bipolar disorder (BD), however, there is presently no way to predict response to guide treatment. The aim of this study is to identify functional genes and pathways that distinguish BD Li responders (LR) from BD Li non-responders (NR). An initial Pharmacogenomics of Bipolar Disorder study (PGBD) GWAS of lithium response did not provide any significant results. As a result, we then employed network-based integrative analysis of transcriptomic and genomic data. In transcriptomic study of iPSC-derived neurons, 41 significantly differentially expressed (DE) genes were identified in LR vs NR regardless of lithium exposure. In the PGBD, post-GWAS gene prioritization using the GWA-boosting (GWAB) approach identified 1119 candidate genes. Following DE-derived network propagation, there was a highly significant overlap of genes between the top 500- and top 2000-proximal gene networks and the GWAB gene list (Phypergeometric = 1.28E-09 and 4.10E-18, respectively). Functional enrichment analyses of the top 500 proximal network genes identified focal adhesion and the extracellular matrix (ECM) as the most significant functions. Our findings suggest that the difference between LR and NR was a much greater effect than that of lithium. The direct impact of dysregulation of focal adhesion on axon guidance and neuronal circuits could underpin mechanisms of response to lithium, as well as underlying BD. It also highlights the power of integrative multi-omics analysis of transcriptomic and genomic profiling to gain molecular insights into lithium response in BD.

High Scores on the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and Psychotic Symptoms Predict Suicide: A Prospective Cohort Study of Psychiatric Acute Ward Patients.

Objective: To investigate the role of depression severity in suicide risk by studying the predictive value of psychotic symptoms and depression scale scores, controlled for suicidal behavior and gender.Methods: We conducted a prospective cohort study of consecutive psychiatric acute ward admissions between 2005 and 2014 from a Norwegian catchment area. Inclusion criteria were an ICD-10 diagnosis of unipolar or bipolar depression with a current depressive episode (n = 1,846); depression severity was measured by the Montgomery-Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). Patients were assessed for suicidal ideation/planning, self-harm, and recent suicide attempts on admission. Mean follow-up time was 5.5 years (minimum/maximum: 0/10.6 years). We used Cox regression analyses and Kaplan-Meier analyses to explore potential predictors and time to suicide.Results: During the follow-up period, 46 patients died by suicide, 30 (65%) of these within the year following admission. Psychotic depression (P = .014), admission MADRS score (P = .006), suicide attempts (P = .021), and male sex (P = .043) significantly predicted suicide. Suicidal ideation and self-harm did not predict suicide. The cumulative suicide risk in psychotic depression was 1.7% after 12 weeks and 3.0% after 52 weeks.Conclusions: Depression severity as measured with the MADRS or a diagnosis of psychotic depression independently predicted suicide. More suicides may be prevented by implementing intensive treatment and post-discharge follow-up for patients who present to psychiatric acute wards with severe depressive episodes and recent suicide attempts, regardless of self-reported suicidal ideation, suicide plans, and self-harm.

Correction of depression-associated circadian rhythm abnormalities is associated with lithium response in bipolar disorder.

BACKGROUND: Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by episodes of depression and mania and disrupted circadian rhythms. Lithium is an effective therapy for BD, but only 30%-40% of patients are fully responsive. Preclinical models show that lithium alters circadian rhythms. However, it is unknown if the circadian rhythm effects of lithium are essential to its therapeutic properties. METHODS: In secondary analyses of a multi-center, prospective, trial of lithium for BD, we examined the relationship between circadian rhythms and therapeutic response to lithium. Using standardized instruments, we measured morningness, diurnal changes in mood, sleep, and energy (circadian rhythm disturbances) in a cross-sectional study of 386 BD subjects with varying lithium exposure histories. Next, we tracked symptoms of depression and mania prospectively over 12 weeks in a subset of 88 BD patients initiating treatment with lithium. Total, circadian, and affective mood symptoms were scored separately and analyzed. RESULTS: Subjects with no prior lithium exposure had the most circadian disruption, while patients stable on lithium monotherapy had the least. Patients who were stable on lithium with another drug or unstable on lithium showed intermediate levels of disruption. Treatment with lithium for 12 weeks yielded significant reductions in total and affective depression symptoms. Lithium responders (Li-Rs) showed improvement in circadian symptoms of depression, but non-responders did not. There was no difference between Li-Rs and nonresponders in affective, circadian, or total symptoms of mania. CONCLUSIONS: Exposure to lithium is associated with reduced circadian disruption. Lithium response at 12 weeks was selectively associated with the reduction of circadian depressive symptoms. We conclude that stabilization of circadian rhythms may be an important feature of lithium's therapeutic effects. CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRY: NCT0127253.

Clinical predictors of non-response to lithium treatment in the Pharmacogenomics of Bipolar Disorder (PGBD) study.

BACKGROUND: Lithium is regarded as a first-line treatment for bipolar disorder (BD), but partial response and non-response commonly occurs. There exists a need to identify lithium non-responders prior to initiating treatment. The Pharmacogenomics of Bipolar Disorder (PGBD) Study was designed to identify predictors of lithium response. METHODS: The PGBD Study was an eleven site prospective trial of lithium treatment in bipolar I disorder. Subjects were stabilized on lithium monotherapy over 4 months and gradually discontinued from all other psychotropic medications. After ensuring a sustained clinical remission (defined by a score of ≤3 on the CGI for 4 weeks) had been achieved, subjects were followed for up to 2 years to monitor clinical response. Cox proportional hazard models were used to examine the relationship between clinical measures and time until failure to remit or relapse. RESULTS: A total of 345 individuals were enrolled into the study and included in the analysis. Of these, 101 subjects failed to remit or relapsed, 88 achieved remission and continued to study completion, and 156 were terminated from the study for other reasons. Significant clinical predictors of treatment failure (p < 0.05) included baseline anxiety symptoms, functional impairments, negative life events and lifetime clinical features such as a history of migraine, suicidal ideation/attempts, and mixed episodes, as well as a chronic course of illness. CONCLUSIONS: In this PGBD Study of lithium response, several clinical features were found to be associated with failure to respond to lithium. Future validation is needed to confirm these clinical predictors of treatment failure and their use clinically to distinguish who will do well on lithium before starting pharmacotherapy.

Circadian rhythms in bipolar disorder patient-derived neurons predict lithium response: preliminary studies.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a neuropsychiatric illness defined by recurrent episodes of mania/hypomania, depression and circadian rhythm abnormalities. Lithium is an effective drug for BD, but 30-40% of patients fail to respond adequately to treatment. Previous work has demonstrated that lithium affects the expression of "clock genes" and that lithium responders (Li-R) can be distinguished from non-responders (Li-NR) by differences in circadian rhythms. However, circadian rhythms have not been evaluated in BD patient neurons from Li-R and Li-NR. We used induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) to culture neuronal precursor cells (NPC) and glutamatergic neurons from BD patients characterized for lithium responsiveness and matched controls. We identified strong circadian rhythms in Per2-luc expression in NPCs and neurons from controls and Li-R, but NPC rhythms in Li-R had a shorter circadian period. Li-NR rhythms were low amplitude and profoundly weakened. In NPCs and neurons, expression of PER2 was higher in both BD groups compared to controls. In neurons, PER2 protein levels were higher in BD than controls, especially in Li-NR samples. In single cells, NPC and neuron rhythms in both BD groups were desynchronized compared to controls. Lithium lengthened period in Li-R and control neurons but failed to alter rhythms in Li-NR. In contrast, temperature entrainment increased amplitude across all groups, and partly restored rhythms in Li-NR neurons. We conclude that neuronal circadian rhythm abnormalities are present in BD and most pronounced in Li-NR. Rhythm deficits in BD may be partly reversible through stimulation of entrainment pathways.

Suicidal and violent ideation in acute psychiatric inpatients: prevalence, co-occurrence, and associated characteristics.

OBJECTIVE: We studied the point prevalence of suicidal and violent ideation, as well as their co-occurrence and associated characteristics in inpatients with mental health disorders. METHODS: Data on suicidal and violent ideation, and sociodemographic and clinical information, were gathered from 1,737 patients when admitted to the acute psychiatric ward. RESULTS: The point prevalence was 51.9% for suicidal ideation and 19.8% for violent ideation. The point prevalence of co-occurring suicidal and violent ideation was 12.3%, which was significantly greater than expected by chance. Logistic regression analyses indicated that both suicidal and violent ideation were associated with young age and the absence of diagnoses of psychotic disorders; in addition, suicidal ideation was associated with female gender, violent ideation, and diagnoses of mood- neurotic and personality disorders, whereas violent ideation was associated with male gender, suicidal ideation, and diagnoses of mood and neurotic disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, the findings highlight the need for further research on suicidal and violent ideation in people with mental health problems including, but not limited to, their association with adverse behavioral outcomes, as well as the need to routinely assess both suicidal and violent ideation in clinical practice.

Diurnal variation of motor activity in adult ADHD patients analyzed with methods from graph theory.

Attention-deficit /hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental syndrome characterized by age-inappropriate levels of motor activity, impulsivity and attention. The aim of the present study was to study diurnal variation of motor activity in adult ADHD patients, compared to healthy controls and clinical controls with mood and anxiety disorders. Wrist-worn actigraphs were used to record motor activity in a sample of 81 patients and 30 healthy controls. Time series from registrations in the morning and evening were analyzed using measures of variability, complexity and a newly developed method, the similarity algorithm, based on transforming time series into graphs. In healthy controls the evening registrations showed higher variability and lower complexity compared to morning registrations, however this was evident only in the female controls. In the two patient groups the same measures were not significantly different, with one exception, the graph measure bridges. This was the measure that most clearly separated morning and evening registrations and was significantly different both in healthy controls and in patients with a diagnosis of ADHD. These findings suggest that actigraph registrations, combined with mathematical methods based on graph theory, may be used to elucidate the mechanisms responsible for the diurnal regulation of motor activity.

Anterior cingulate gamma-aminobutyric acid concentrations and electroconvulsive therapy.

OBJECTIVE: The anticonvulsant hypothesis posits that ECT's mechanism of action is related to enhancement of endogenous anticonvulsant brain mechanisms. Results of prior studies investigating the role of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid ("GABA+", GABA and coedited macromolecules) in the pathophysiology and treatment of depression remain inconclusive. The aim of our study was to investigate treatment-responsive changes of GABA+ in subjects with a depressive episode receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). METHODS: In total, 41 depressed subjects (DEP) and 35 healthy controls (HC) were recruited at two independent sites in Norway and the USA. MEGA-PRESS was used for investigation of GABA+ in the anterior cingulate cortex. We assessed longitudinal and cross-sectional differences between DEP and HC, as well as the relationship between GABA+ change and change in depression severity and number of ECTs. We also assessed longitudinal differences in cognitive performance and GABA+ levels. RESULTS: Depressive episode did not show a difference in GABA+ relative to HC (t71  = -0.36, p = .72) or in longitudinal analysis (t36  = 0.97, p = .34). Remitters and nonremitters did not show longitudinal (t36  = 1.12, p = .27) or cross-sectional differences in GABA+. GABA+ levels were not related to changes in antidepressant response (t35  = 1.12, p = .27) or treatment number (t36  = 0.05, p = .96). An association between cognitive performance and GABA+ levels was found in DEP that completed cognitive effortful testing (t18  = 2.4, p = .03). CONCLUSION: Our results failed to support GABA as a marker for depression and abnormal mood state and provide no support for the anticonvulsant hypothesis of ECT. ECT-induced change in GABA concentrations may be related to change in cognitive function.

A Longitudinal Comparison Between Depressed Patients Receiving Electroconvulsive Therapy and Healthy Controls on Specific Memory Functions.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the short- and long-term effect of electroconvulsive therapy on verbal, visual, and autobiographical memory functions in patients treated for a severe depressive episode. Patients were compared with healthy controls undergoing neurocognitive assessments at the same time points to account for normal forgetfulness and potential learning effects. METHODS: A pre-post intervention design included patients (n = 38) and controls (n = 16) referred to Haukeland University Hospital for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) from September 2013 to September 2018. Patients diagnosed with a major depressive episode (according to ICD-10 criteria) underwent right unilateral ECT with brief-pulse, square-wave, constant current. Neurocognitive assessments were administered pretreatment and, on average, 19 days and 6 months posttreatment. Performance on the California Verbal Learning Test Second Edition, Rey Osterrich Complex Figure, and Autobiographical Memory Interview-Short Form were the main outcome measures, examining verbal, visual, and autobiographical memory, respectively. RESULTS: Patients performed significantly worse compared to controls on all measures of verbal and visual memory at every assessment (P ≤ .001). Within-group analyses showed no impaired visual or verbal memory function due to ECT. However, autobiographical consistency was significantly decreased for patients (70.30%) compared to controls (82.03%) 6 months posttreatment (P = .0005). CONCLUSIONS: Patients' ability to acquire new general knowledge is considered as unaffected by ECT. Deficits in autobiographic memory were found 6 months posttreatment, indicating both an iatrogenic effect of treatment and an effect of depression on retrograde memory functions. For patients, the risk of this iatrogenic effect of treatment must be evaluated against the symptomatic and potential functional recovery due to ECT. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinicaltrials.gov identifier: NCT04348825.

Structural changes induced by electroconvulsive therapy are associated with clinical outcome.

BACKGROUND: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is the most effective treatment option for major depressive disorder, so understanding whether its clinical effect relates to structural brain changes is vital for current and future antidepressant research. OBJECTIVE: To determine whether clinical response to ECT is related to structural volumetric changes in the brain as measured by structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and, if so, which regions are related to this clinical effect. We also determine whether a similar model can be used to identify regions associated with electrode placement (unilateral versus bilateral ECT). METHODS: Longitudinal MRI and clinical data (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale) was collected from 10 sites as part of the Global ECT-MRI research collaboration (GEMRIC). From 192 subjects, relative changes in 80 (sub)cortical areas were used as potential features for classifying treatment response. We used recursive feature elimination to extract relevant features, which were subsequently used to train a linear classifier. As a validation, the same was done for electrode placement. We report accuracy as well as the structural coefficients of regions included in the discriminative spatial patterns obtained. RESULTS: A pattern of structural changes in cortical midline, striatal and lateral prefrontal areas discriminates responders from non-responders (75% accuracy, p < 0.001) while left-sided mediotemporal changes discriminate unilateral from bilateral electrode placement (81% accuracy, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: The identification of a multivariate discriminative pattern shows that structural change is relevant for clinical response to ECT, but this pattern does not include mediotemporal regions that have been the focus of electroconvulsive therapy research so far.

The association between lithium use and neurocognitive performance in patients with bipolar disorder.

Lithium remains the gold standard for the treatment of bipolar disorder (BD); however, its use has declined over the years mainly due to the side effects and the subjective experience of cognitive numbness reported by patients. In the present study, we aim to methodically test the effects of lithium on neurocognitive functioning in the largest single cohort (n = 262) of BD patients reported to date by harnessing the power of a multi-site, ongoing clinical trial of lithium monotherapy. At the cross-sectional level, multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted to examine potential group differences across neurocognitive tests [California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT trials 1-5,CVLT delayed recall), Wechsler Digit Symbol, Trail-making Test parts A and B (TMT-A; TMT-B), and a global cognition index]. At the longitudinal level, on a subset of patients (n = 88) who achieved mood stabilization with lithium monotherapy, we explored the effect of lithium treatment across time on neurocognitive functioning. There were no differences at baseline between BD patients that were taking lithium compared with those that were not. At follow-up a significant neurocognitive improvement in the global cognitive index score [F = 31.69; p < 0.001], CVLT trials 1-5 [F = 29.81; p < 0.001], CVLT delayed recall [F = 15.27; p < 0.001], and TMT-B [F = 6.64, p = 0.012] was detected. The cross-sectional and longitudinal (on a subset of 88 patients) investigations suggest that lithium may be beneficial to neurocognitive functioning in patients with BD and that at the very least it does not seem to significantly impair cognition when used therapeutically.

Depressive Symptom Dimensions in Treatment-Resistant Major Depression and Their Modulation With Electroconvulsive Therapy.

OBJECTIVE: Symptom heterogeneity in major depressive disorder obscures diagnostic and treatment-responsive biomarker identification. Whether symptom constellations are differentially changed by electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) remains unknown. We investigate the clustering of depressive symptoms over the ECT index and whether ECT differentially influences symptom clusters. METHODS: The 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS-17) was collected from 111 patients with current depressive episode before and after ECT from 4 independent participating sites of the Global ECT-MRI Research Collaboration. Exploratory factor analysis of HDRS-17 items pre- and post-ECT treatment identified depressive symptom dimensions before and after ECT. A 2-way analysis of covariance was used to determine whether baseline symptom clusters were differentially changed by ECT between treatment remitters (defined as patients with posttreatment HDRS-17 total score ≤8) and nonremitters while controlling for pulse width, titration method, concurrent antidepressant treatment, use of benzodiazepine, and demographic variables. RESULTS: A 3-factor solution grouped pretreatment HDRS-17 items into core mood/anhedonia, somatic, and insomnia dimensions. A 2-factor solution best described the symptoms at posttreatment despite poorer separation of items. Among remitters, core mood/anhedonia symptoms were significantly more reduced than somatic and insomnia dimensions. No differences in symptom dimension trajectories were observed among nonremitting patients. CONCLUSIONS: Electroconvulsive therapy targets the underlying source of depressive symptomatology and may confer differential degrees of improvement in certain core depressive symptoms. Our findings of differential trajectories of symptom clusters over the ECT index might help related predictive biomarker studies to refine their approaches by identifying predictors of change along each latent symptom dimension.

Brain Changes Induced by Electroconvulsive Therapy Are Broadly Distributed.

BACKGROUND: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is associated with volumetric enlargements of corticolimbic brain regions. However, the pattern of whole-brain structural alterations following ECT remains unresolved. Here, we examined the longitudinal effects of ECT on global and local variations in gray matter, white matter, and ventricle volumes in patients with major depressive disorder as well as predictors of ECT-related clinical response. METHODS: Longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging and clinical data from the Global ECT-MRI Research Collaboration (GEMRIC) were used to investigate changes in white matter, gray matter, and ventricle volumes before and after ECT in 328 patients experiencing a major depressive episode. In addition, 95 nondepressed control subjects were scanned twice. We performed a mega-analysis of single subject data from 14 independent GEMRIC sites. RESULTS: Volumetric increases occurred in 79 of 84 gray matter regions of interest. In total, the cortical volume increased by mean ± SD of 1.04 ± 1.03% (Cohen's d = 1.01, p < .001) and the subcortical gray matter volume increased by 1.47 ± 1.05% (d = 1.40, p < .001) in patients. The subcortical gray matter increase was negatively associated with total ventricle volume (Spearman's rank correlation ρ = -.44, p < .001), while total white matter volume remained unchanged (d = -0.05, p = .41). The changes were modulated by number of ECTs and mode of electrode placements. However, the gray matter volumetric enlargements were not associated with clinical outcome. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that ECT induces gray matter volumetric increases that are broadly distributed. However, gross volumetric increases of specific anatomically defined regions may not serve as feasible biomarkers of clinical response.

Electric field causes volumetric changes in the human brain.

Recent longitudinal neuroimaging studies in patients with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) suggest local effects of electric stimulation (lateralized) occur in tandem with global seizure activity (generalized). We used electric field (EF) modeling in 151 ECT treated patients with depression to determine the regional relationships between EF, unbiased longitudinal volume change, and antidepressant response across 85 brain regions. The majority of regional volumes increased significantly, and volumetric changes correlated with regional electric field (t = 3.77, df = 83, r = 0.38, p=0.0003). After controlling for nuisance variables (age, treatment number, and study site), we identified two regions (left amygdala and left hippocampus) with a strong relationship between EF and volume change (FDR corrected p<0.01). However, neither structural volume changes nor electric field was associated with antidepressant response. In summary, we showed that high electrical fields are strongly associated with robust volume changes in a dose-dependent fashion.