Modulation of brain networks during MR-compatible transcranial direct current stimulation.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) can influence performance on behavioral tasks and improve symptoms of brain conditions. Yet, it remains unclear precisely how tDCS affects brain function and connectivity. Here, we measured changes in functional connectivity (FC) metrics in blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI data acquired during MR-compatible tDCS in a whole-brain analysis with corrections for false discovery rate. Volunteers (n = 64) received active tDCS, sham tDCS, and rest (no stimulation), using one of three previously established electrode tDCS montages targeting left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, n = 37), lateral temporoparietal area (LTA, n = 16), or superior temporal cortex (STC, n = 11). In brain networks where simulated E field was highest in each montage, connectivity with remote nodes decreased during active tDCS. During active DLPFC-tDCS, connectivity decreased between a fronto-parietal network and subgenual ACC, while during LTA-tDCS connectivity decreased between an auditory-somatomotor network and frontal operculum. Active DLPFC-tDCS was also associated with increased connectivity within an orbitofrontal network overlapping subgenual ACC. Irrespective of montage, FC metrics increased in sensorimotor and attention regions during both active and sham tDCS, which may reflect the cognitive-perceptual demands of tDCS. Taken together, these results indicate that tDCS may have both intended and unintended effects on ongoing brain activity, stressing the importance of including sham, stimulation-absent, and active comparators in basic science and clinical trials of tDCS.

Hippocampal subregions and networks linked with antidepressant response to electroconvulsive therapy.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) has been repeatedly linked to hippocampal plasticity. However, it remains unclear what role hippocampal plasticity plays in the antidepressant response to ECT. This magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study tracks changes in separate hippocampal subregions and hippocampal networks in patients with depression (n = 44, 23 female) to determine their relationship, if any, with improvement after ECT. Voxelwise analyses were restricted to the hippocampus, amygdala, and parahippocampal cortex, and applied separately for responders and nonresponders to ECT. In analyses of arterial spin-labeled (ASL) MRI, nonresponders exhibited increased cerebral blood flow (CBF) in bilateral anterior hippocampus, while responders showed CBF increases in right middle and left posterior hippocampus. In analyses of gray matter volume (GMV) using T1-weighted MRI, GMV increased throughout bilateral hippocampus and surrounding tissue in nonresponders, while responders showed increased GMV in right anterior hippocampus only. Using CBF loci as seed regions, BOLD-fMRI data from healthy controls (n = 36, 19 female) identified spatially separable neurofunctional networks comprised of different brain regions. In graph theory analyses of these networks, functional connectivity within a hippocampus-thalamus-striatum network decreased only in responders after two treatments and after index. In sum, our results suggest that the location of ECT-related plasticity within the hippocampus may differ according to antidepressant outcome, and that larger amounts of hippocampal plasticity may not be conducive to positive antidepressant response. More focused targeting of hippocampal subregions and/or circuits may be a way to improve ECT outcome.

Acute changes in cerebral blood flow after single-infusion ketamine in major depression: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Ketamine provides rapid antidepressant response in those struggling with major depressive disorder (MDD). This study measured acute changes in brain activity over 24 hours after a single infusion of ketamine using arterial spin labeled (ASL) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in patients with MDD. ASL is a novel technique that provides quantitative values to measure cerebral blood flow (CBF). METHODS: A single sub-anesthetic dose (0.5 mg/kg) of ketamine was delivered intravenously. Treatment-refractory patients (n=11) were assessed at: Baseline (pre-infusion), and approximately 1hr, 6hrs, and 24hrs post-infusion. Linear mixed-effects models detected changes in CBF with respect to treatment outcome, and results were corrected for false discovery rate (FDR). RESULTS: After ketamine infusion, increased CBF was observed in the thalamus, while decreased CBF was observed in lateral occipital cortex in all patients. Time-by-response interactions were noted in ventral basal ganglia and medial prefrontal cortex, where CBF change differed according to antidepressant response. LIMITATIONS: Modest sample size is a limitation of this pilot study; strict statistical correction and visualization of single-subject data attempted to ameliorate this issue. CONCLUSION: In this pilot study, a sub-anesthetic dose of ketamine was associated with acute neurofunctional changes that may be consistent with altered attention, specifically increased thalamus activity coupled with decreased cortical activity. By contrast, antidepressant response to ketamine was associated with changes in reward-system regions, specifically ventral basal ganglia and medial prefrontal cortex. Further work is needed to determine whether these results generalize to larger samples and/or serial ketamine infusions associated with longer-lasting clinical effects.

Resilience and White Matter Integrity in Geriatric Depression.

OBJECTIVE: Greater psychological resilience may protect against developing depression in a growing geriatric population. Identifying the neural correlates of resilience in geriatric depression could provide neurobiologic targets to inform clinical interventions. However, most prior neuroimaging studies have only considered the presence or absence of resilience and have not addressed the multifactorial nature of resilience. The current study aimed to establish the neural correlates of four factors of resilience in the depressed elderly. METHODS: White matter integrity was assessed using diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging data collected from 70 older adults with major depressive disorder. We used four resilience factors previously derived in an exploratory factor analysis of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale in a large sample of depressed older adults: 1, grit; 2, active coping self-efficacy; 3, accommodative coping self-efficacy; and 4, spirituality. RESULTS: The resilience factor "grit" was positively associated with fractional anisotropy in the callosal region connecting prefrontal cortex and fractional anisotropy in cingulum fibers; however, the latter did not survive correction for multiple comparisons. CONCLUSION: Structural integrity of major white matter pathways implicated in cognitive control and emotion regulation (i.e., connecting prefrontal cortex) was positively associated with the resilience factor "grit" in our sample of older adults with depression. Prospective studies are needed to determine the utility of the structural integrity of these pathways as a biomarker in predicting risk for depression and treatment response.

Functional Topography of Human Auditory Cortex.

Functional and anatomical studies have clearly demonstrated that auditory cortex is populated by multiple subfields. However, functional characterization of those fields has been largely the domain of animal electrophysiology, limiting the extent to which human and animal research can inform each other. In this study, we used high-resolution functional magnetic resonance imaging to characterize human auditory cortical subfields using a variety of low-level acoustic features in the spectral and temporal domains. Specifically, we show that topographic gradients of frequency preference, or tonotopy, extend along two axes in human auditory cortex, thus reconciling historical accounts of a tonotopic axis oriented medial to lateral along Heschl's gyrus and more recent findings emphasizing tonotopic organization along the anterior-posterior axis. Contradictory findings regarding topographic organization according to temporal modulation rate in acoustic stimuli, or "periodotopy," are also addressed. Although isolated subregions show a preference for high rates of amplitude-modulated white noise (AMWN) in our data, large-scale "periodotopic" organization was not found. Organization by AM rate was correlated with dominant pitch percepts in AMWN in many regions. In short, our data expose early auditory cortex chiefly as a frequency analyzer, and spectral frequency, as imposed by the sensory receptor surface in the cochlea, seems to be the dominant feature governing large-scale topographic organization across human auditory cortex. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: In this study, we examine the nature of topographic organization in human auditory cortex with fMRI. Topographic organization by spectral frequency (tonotopy) extended in two directions: medial to lateral, consistent with early neuroimaging studies, and anterior to posterior, consistent with more recent reports. Large-scale organization by rates of temporal modulation (periodotopy) was correlated with confounding spectral content of amplitude-modulated white-noise stimuli. Together, our results suggest that the organization of human auditory cortex is driven primarily by its response to spectral acoustic features, and large-scale periodotopy spanning across multiple regions is not supported. This fundamental information regarding the functional organization of early auditory cortex will inform our growing understanding of speech perception and the processing of other complex sounds.

Neurochemical correlates of rapid treatment response to electroconvulsive therapy in patients with major depression.

BACKGROUND: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a highly effective brain stimulation treatment for severe depression. Identifying neurochemical changes linked with ECT may point to biomarkers and predictors of successful treatment response. METHODS: We used proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) to measure longitudinal changes in glutamate/glutamine (Glx), creatine (Cre), choline (Cho) and N-acetylaspartate (NAA) in the dorsal (dACC) and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sgACC) and bilateral hippocampus in patients receiving ECT scanned at baseline, after the second ECT session and after the ECT treatment series. Patients were compared with demographically similar controls at baseline. Controls were assessed twice to establish normative values and variance. RESULTS: We included 50 patients (mean age 43.78 ± 14 yr) and 33 controls (mean age 39.33 ± 12 yr) in our study. Patients underwent a mean of 9 ± 4.1 sessions of ECT. At baseline, patients showed reduced Glx in the sgACC, reduced NAA in the left hippocampus and increased Glx in the left hippocampus relative to controls. ECT was associated with significant increases in Cre in the dACC and sgACC and decreases in NAA in the dACC and right hippocampus. Lower NAA levels in the dACC at baseline predicted reductions in depressive symptoms. Both ECT and symptom improvement were associated with decreased Glx in the left hippocampus and increased Glx in the sgACC. LIMITATIONS: Attrition and clinical heterogeneity may have masked more subtle findings. CONCLUSION: ECT elicits robust effects on brain chemistry, impacting Cre, NAA and Glx, which suggests restorative and neurotrophic processes. Differential effects of Glx in the sgACC and hippocampus, which approach control values with treatment, may reflect previously implicated underactive cortical and overactive subcortical limbic circuitry in patients with major depression. NAA levels at baseline are predictive of therapeutic outcome and could inform future treatment strategies.

Desynchronization and Plasticity of Striato-frontal Connectivity in Major Depressive Disorder.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with dysfunctional corticolimbic networks, making functional connectivity studies integral for understanding the mechanisms underlying MDD pathophysiology and treatment. Resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) studies analyze patterns of temporally coherent intrinsic brain activity in "resting-state networks" (RSNs). The default-mode network (DMN) has been of particular interest to depression research; however, a single RSN is unlikely to capture MDD pathophysiology in its entirety, and the DMN itself can be characterized by multiple RSNs. This, coupled with conflicting previous results, underscores the need for further research. Here, we measured RSFC in MDD by targeting RSNs overlapping with corticolimbic regions and further determined whether altered patterns of RSFC were restored with electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). MDD patients exhibited hyperconnectivity between ventral striatum (VS) and the ventral default-mode network (vDMN), while simultaneously demonstrating hypoconnectivity with the anterior DMN (aDMN). ECT influenced this pattern: VS-vDMN hyperconnectivity was significantly reduced while VS-aDMN hypoconnectivity only modestly improved. RSFC between the salience RSN and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex was also reduced in MDD, but was not affected by ECT. Taken together, our results support a model of ventral/dorsal imbalance in MDD and further suggest that the VS is a key structure contributing to this desynchronization.

Short- and Long-term Cognitive Outcomes in Patients With Major Depression Treated With Electroconvulsive Therapy.

OBJECTIVES: The risk of cognitive impairment is a concern for patients with major depressive disorder receiving electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Here, we evaluate the acute, short-term and long-term effects of ECT on tests of processing speed, executive function, memory, and attention. METHODS: Forty-four patients with major depressive disorder receiving ECT (61% right unilateral, 39% mixed right unilateral-bitemporal, left unilateral, and/or bitemporal lead placement) underwent a cognitive battery prior to ECT (T1), after 2 sessions (T2), and at the end of the index (T3). Thirty-two patients returned for a 6-month follow-up (T4). Thirty-three control subjects were assessed at 2 times approximately 4 weeks apart (C1 and C2). RESULTS: At baseline, patients showed deficits in processing speed, executive function, and memory compared with control subjects. Including depression severity and lead placement covariates, linear mixed-model analysis showed significant improvement in only processing speed between T1 and T3 and between T1 and T4 in patients. An acute decline in attention and verbal memory was observed at T2, but performance returned to baseline levels at T3. Longitudinal cognitive outcomes did not differ in patients defined as ECT responders/nonresponders. LIMITATIONS: Episodic memory was not measured, and medications were not controlled between T3 and T4. Control subjects also showed improvements in processing speed, suggesting practice effects for some measures. CONCLUSIONS: In this naturalistic ECT treatment study, results show that the initiation of ECT may transiently affect memory and executive function, but cognition is largely unaffected during and after ECT. Whereas some functions might improve, others will at least remain stable up to 6 months following the ECT index.

Intrinsic network activity in tinnitus investigated using functional MRI.

Tinnitus is an increasingly common disorder in which patients experience phantom auditory sensations, usually ringing or buzzing in the ear. Tinnitus pathophysiology has been repeatedly shown to involve both auditory and non-auditory brain structures, making network-level studies of tinnitus critical. In this magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study, two resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) approaches were used to better understand functional network disturbances in tinnitus. First, we demonstrated tinnitus-related reductions in RSFC between specific brain regions and resting-state networks (RSNs), defined by independent components analysis (ICA) and chosen for their overlap with structures known to be affected in tinnitus. Then, we restricted ICA to data from tinnitus patients, and identified one RSN not apparent in control data. This tinnitus RSN included auditory-sensory regions like inferior colliculus and medial Heschl's gyrus, as well as classically non-auditory regions like the mediodorsal nucleus of the thalamus, striatum, lateral prefrontal, and orbitofrontal cortex. Notably, patients' reported tinnitus loudness was positively correlated with RSFC between the mediodorsal nucleus and the tinnitus RSN, indicating that this network may underlie the auditory-sensory experience of tinnitus. These data support the idea that tinnitus involves network dysfunction, and further stress the importance of communication between auditory-sensory and fronto-striatal circuits in tinnitus pathophysiology. Hum Brain Mapp 37:2717-2735, 2016. © 2016 The Authors Human Brain Mapping Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Diffusion imaging of auditory and auditory-limbic connectivity in tinnitus: preliminary evidence and methodological challenges.

Subjective tinnitus, or "ringing in the ears," is perceived by 10 to 15 percent of the adult population and causes significant suffering in a subset of patients. While it was originally thought of as a purely auditory phenomenon, there is increasing evidence that the limbic system influences whether and how tinnitus is perceived, far beyond merely determining the patient's emotional reaction to the phantom sound. Based on functional imaging and electrophysiological data, recent articles frame tinnitus as a "network problem" arising from abnormalities in auditory-limbic interactions. Diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging is a noninvasive method for investigating anatomical connections in vivo. It thus has the potential to provide anatomical evidence for the proposed changes in auditory-limbic connectivity. However, the few diffusion imaging studies of tinnitus performed to date have inconsistent results. In the present paper, we briefly summarize the results of previous studies, aiming to reconcile their results. After detailing analysis methods, we then report findings from a new dataset. We conclude that while there is some evidence for tinnitus-related increases in auditory and auditory-limbic connectivity that counteract hearing-loss related decreases in auditory connectivity, these results should be considered preliminary until several technical challenges have been overcome.

Perceptual and cognitive effects of focal tDCS of auditory cortex in tinnitus.

OBJECTIVES: Noninvasive brain stimulation continues to grow as an effective, low-risk way of improving the symptoms of brain conditions. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is particularly well-tolerated, with benefits including low cost and potential portability. Nevertheless, continued study of perceptual and cognitive side effects is warranted, given the complexity of functional brain organization. This paper describes the results of a brief battery of tablet-based tasks used in a recent pilot study of auditory-cortex tDCS in people with chronic tinnitus. METHODS: Volunteers with chronic tinnitus (n=20) completed two hearing tasks (pure-tone thresholds, Words In Noise) and two cognitive tasks (Flanker, Dimension Change Card Sort) from the NIH Toolbox. Volunteers were randomized to active or sham 4×1 Ag/AgCl tDCS of auditory cortex, and tasks were completed immediately before and after the first tDCS session, and after the fifth/final tDCS session. Statistics included linear mixed-effects models for change in task performance over time. RESULTS: Before tDCS, performance on both auditory tasks was highly correlated with clinical audiometry, supporting the external validity of these measures (r2>0.89 for all). Although overall auditory task performance did not change after active or sham tDCS, detection of right-ear Words in Noise stimuli modestly improved after five active tDCS sessions (t(34)=-2.07, p=0.05). On cognitive tasks, reaction times were quicker after sham tDCS, reflecting expected practice effects (e.g., t(88)=3.22, p=0.002 after 5 sessions on Flanker task). However, reaction times did not improve over repeated sessions in the active group, suggesting that tDCS interfered with learning these practice effects. CONCLUSIONS: Repeated sessions of auditory-cortex tDCS does not appear to adversely affect hearing or cognition, but may modestly improve hearing in noisy environments and interfere with some types of motor learning. Low-burden cognitive/perceptual test batteries could be a powerful way to identify adverse effects and new treatment targets in brain stimulation research.

Hearing function moderates age-related changes in brain morphometry in the HCP Aging cohort.

Introduction: There are well-established relationships between aging and neurodegenerative changes, and between aging and hearing loss. The goal of this study was to determine how structural brain aging is influenced by hearing loss. Methods: Human Connectome Project Aging (HCP-A) data were analyzed, including T1-weighted MRI and Words in Noise (WIN) thresholds (n=623). Freesurfer extracted gray and white matter volume, and cortical thickness, area, and curvature. Linear regression models targeted (1) interactions between age and WIN threshold and (2) correlations with WIN threshold adjusted for age, both corrected for false discovery rate (pFDR<0.05). Results: WIN threshold moderated age-related increase in volume in bilateral inferior lateral ventricles, with higher threshold associated with increased age-related ventricle expansion. Age-related deterioration in occipital cortex was also increased with higher WIN thresholds. When controlling for age, high WIN threshold was correlated with reduced cortical thickness in Heschl's gyrus, calcarine sulcus, and other sensory regions, and reduced temporal lobe white matter. Older volunteers with poorer hearing and cognitive scores had the lowest volume in left parahippocampal white matter. Conclusions: Preserved hearing abilities in aging associated with a reduction of age-related changes to medial temporal lobe, and preserved hearing at any age associated with preserved cortical tissue in auditory and other sensory regions. Future longitudinal studies are needed to assess the causal nature of these relationships, but these results indicate interventions which preserve hearing function may combat some neurodegenerative changes in aging.

Focal tDCS of auditory cortex in chronic tinnitus: A randomized controlled mechanistic trial.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this pilot study was to understand how focal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeting auditory cortex changes brain function in chronic tinnitus using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). METHODS: People with chronic tinnitus were randomized to active or sham tDCS on five consecutive days in this mechanistic trial (n = 10/group). Focal 4x1 tDCS (central anode, surround cathodes) targeted left auditory cortex, with single-blind 2 mA current during twenty-minute sessions. Arterial spin-labeled and blood oxygenation level dependent MRI occurred immediately before and after the first tDCS session, and tinnitus symptoms were measured starting one week before the first tDCS session and through four weeks after the final session. RESULTS: Acute increases in cerebral blood flow and functional connectivity were noted in auditory cortex after the first active tDCS session. Reduced tinnitus loudness ratings after the final tDCS session correlated with acute change in functional connectivity between an auditory network and mediodorsal thalamus and prefrontal cortex. Reduced tinnitus intrusiveness also correlated with acute change in connectivity between precuneus and an auditory network. CONCLUSIONS: Focal auditory-cortex tDCS can influence function in thalamus, auditory, and prefrontal cortex, which may associate with improved tinnitus. SIGNIFICANCE: With future refinement, tDCS targeting auditory cortex could become a viable intervention for tinnitus.

Modulation of habenular and nucleus accumbens functional connectivity by ketamine in major depression.

INTRODUCTION: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with dysfunctional reward processing, which involves functional circuitry of the habenula (Hb) and nucleus accumbens (NAc). Since ketamine elicits rapid antidepressant and antianhedonic effects in MDD, this study sought to investigate how serial ketamine infusion (SKI) treatment modulates static and dynamic functional connectivity (FC) in Hb and NAc functional networks. METHODS: MDD participants (n = 58, mean age = 40.7 years, female = 28) received four ketamine infusions (0.5 mg/kg) 2-3 times weekly. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans and clinical assessments were collected at baseline and 24 h post-SKI. Static FC (sFC) and dynamic FC variability (dFCv) were calculated from left and right Hb and NAc seeds to all other brain regions. Changes in FC pre-to-post SKI, and correlations with changes with mood and anhedonia were examined. Comparisons of FC between patients and healthy controls (HC) at baseline (n = 55, mean age = 32.6, female = 31), and between HC assessed twice (n = 16) were conducted as follow-up analyses. RESULTS: Following SKI, significant increases in left Hb-bilateral visual cortex FC, decreases in left Hb-left inferior parietal cortex FC, and decreases in left NAc-right cerebellum FC occurred. Decreased dFCv between left Hb and right precuneus and visual cortex, and decreased dFCv between right NAc and right visual cortex both significantly correlated with improvements in mood ratings. Decreased FC between left Hb and bilateral visual/parietal cortices as well as increased FC between left NAc and right visual/parietal cortices both significantly correlated with improvements in anhedonia. No differences were observed between HC at baseline or over time. CONCLUSION: Subanesthetic ketamine modulates functional pathways linking the Hb and NAc with visual, parietal, and cerebellar regions in MDD. Overlapping effects between Hb and NAc functional systems were associated with ketamine's therapeutic response.

Focal transcranial direct current stimulation of auditory cortex in chronic tinnitus: A randomized controlled mechanistic trial.

Objective: The goal of this pilot MRI study was to understand how focal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) targeting auditory cortex changes brain function in chronic tinnitus. Methods: People with chronic tinnitus were randomized to active or sham tDCS on five consecutive days in this pilot mechanistic trial (n=10/group). Focal 4×1 tDCS (central anode, surround cathodes) targeted left auditory cortex, with single-blind 2mA current during twenty-minute sessions. Arterial spin-labeled and blood oxygenation level dependent MRI occurred immediately before and after the first tDCS session, and tinnitus symptoms were measured starting one week before the first tDCS session and through four weeks after the final session. Results: Acute increases in cerebral blood flow and functional connectivity were noted in auditory cortex after the first active tDCS session. Reduced tinnitus loudness ratings after the final tDCS session correlated with acute change in functional connectivity between an auditory network and mediodorsal thalamus and prefrontal cortex. Reduced tinnitus intrusiveness also correlated with acute change in connectivity between precuneus and an auditory network. Conclusions: Focal auditory-cortex tDCS can influence function in thalamus, auditory, and prefrontal cortex, which may associate with improved tinnitus. Significance: With future refinement, noninvasive brain stimulation targeting auditory cortex could become a viable intervention for tinnitus.

Neuroimaging-Derived Biomarkers of the Antidepressant Effects of Ketamine.

Major depressive disorder is a highly prevalent psychiatric disorder. Despite an extensive range of treatment options, about a third of patients still struggle to respond to available therapies. In the last 20 years, ketamine has gained considerable attention in the psychiatric field as a promising treatment of depression, particularly in patients who are treatment resistant or at high risk for suicide. At a subanesthetic dose, ketamine produces a rapid and pronounced reduction in depressive symptoms and suicidal ideation, and serial treatment appears to produce a greater and more sustained therapeutic response. However, the mechanism driving ketamine's antidepressant effects is not yet well understood. Biomarker discovery may advance knowledge of ketamine's antidepressant action, which could in turn translate to more personalized and effective treatment strategies. At the brain systems level, neuroimaging can be used to identify functional pathways and networks contributing to ketamine's therapeutic effects by studying how it alters brain structure, function, connectivity, and metabolism. In this review, we summarize and appraise recent work in this area, including 51 articles that use resting-state and task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging, arterial spin labeling, positron emission tomography, structural magnetic resonance imaging, diffusion magnetic resonance imaging, or magnetic resonance spectroscopy to study brain and clinical changes 24 hours or longer after ketamine treatment in populations with unipolar or bipolar depression. Though individual studies have included relatively small samples, used different methodological approaches, and reported disparate regional findings, converging evidence supports that ketamine leads to neuroplasticity in structural and functional brain networks that contribute to or are relevant to its antidepressant effects.

Parsing the Network Mechanisms of Electroconvulsive Therapy.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is one of the oldest and most effective forms of neurostimulation, wherein electrical current is used to elicit brief, generalized seizures under general anesthesia. When electrodes are positioned to target frontotemporal cortex, ECT is arguably the most effective treatment for severe major depression, with response rates and times superior to other available antidepressant therapies. Neuroimaging research has been pivotal in improving the field's mechanistic understanding of ECT, with a growing number of magnetic resonance imaging studies demonstrating hippocampal plasticity after ECT, in line with evidence of upregulated neurotrophic processes in the hippocampus in animal models. However, the precise roles of the hippocampus and other brain regions in antidepressant response to ECT remain unclear. Seizure physiology may also play a role in antidepressant response to ECT, as indicated by early positron emission tomography, single-photon emission computed tomography, and electroencephalography research and corroborated by recent magnetic resonance imaging studies. In this review, we discuss the evidence supporting neuroplasticity in the hippocampus and other brain regions during and after ECT, and their associations with antidepressant response. We also offer a mechanistic, circuit-level model that proposes that core mechanisms of antidepressant response to ECT involve thalamocortical and cerebellar networks that are active during seizure generalization and termination over repeated ECT sessions, and their interactions with corticolimbic circuits that are dysfunctional prior to treatment and targeted with the electrical stimulus.

Cortical representation of natural complex sounds: effects of acoustic features and auditory object category.

How the brain processes complex sounds, like voices or musical instrument sounds, is currently not well understood. The features comprising the acoustic profiles of such sounds are thought to be represented by neurons responding to increasing degrees of complexity throughout auditory cortex, with complete auditory "objects" encoded by neurons (or small networks of neurons) in anterior superior temporal regions. Although specialized voice and speech-sound regions have been proposed, it is unclear how other types of complex natural sounds are processed within this object-processing pathway. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we sought to demonstrate spatially distinct patterns of category-selective activity in human auditory cortex, independent of semantic content and low-level acoustic features. Category-selective responses were identified in anterior superior temporal regions, consisting of clusters selective for musical instrument sounds and for human speech. An additional subregion was identified that was particularly selective for the acoustic-phonetic content of speech. In contrast, regions along the superior temporal plane closer to primary auditory cortex were not selective for stimulus category, responding instead to specific acoustic features embedded in natural sounds, such as spectral structure and temporal modulation. Our results support a hierarchical organization of the anteroventral auditory-processing stream, with the most anterior regions representing the complete acoustic signature of auditory objects.

Effects of Serial Ketamine Infusions on Corticolimbic Functional Connectivity in Major Depression.

BACKGROUND: Ketamine is a highly effective antidepressant for patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (MDD). Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging studies show disruptions of functional connectivity (FC) between limbic regions and resting-state networks (RSNs) in MDD, including the default mode network, central executive network (CEN), and salience network (SN). Here, we investigated whether serial ketamine treatments change FC between limbic structures and RSNs. METHODS: Patients with MDD (n = 44) were scanned at baseline (time 1 [T1]) and 24 hours after the first (T2) and fourth (T3) infusions of ketamine. Healthy control subjects (n = 50) were scanned at baseline, with a subgroup (n = 17) being rescanned at 2 weeks. Limbic regions included the amygdala and hippocampus, and RSNs included the default mode network, CEN, and SN. RESULTS: Ketamine increased right amygdala FC to the right CEN (p = .05), decreased amygdala FC to the left CEN (p = .005) at T2 versus T1 (p = .015), which then increased at T3 versus T2 (p = .002), and decreased left amygdala FC to the SN (p = .016). Decreased left amygdala to SN FC at T2 predicted improvements in anxiety at T3 (p = .006). Ketamine increased right hippocampus FC to the left CEN (p = .001), and this change at T2 predicted decreased anhedonia at T3 (p = .005). CONCLUSIONS: Ketamine modulates FC between limbic regions and RSNs implicated in MDD. Increases in FC between limbic regions and the CEN suggest that ketamine may be involved in restoring top-down control of emotion processing. FC decreases between the left amygdala and SN suggest that ketamine may ameliorate MDD-related dysconnectivity in these circuits. Early FC changes between limbic regions and RSNs may be predictive of clinical improvements.

Brain activation during anticipation of sound sequences.

Music consists of sound sequences that require integration over time. As we become familiar with music, associations between notes, melodies, and entire symphonic movements become stronger and more complex. These associations can become so tight that, for example, hearing the end of one album track can elicit a robust image of the upcoming track while anticipating it in total silence. Here, we study this predictive "anticipatory imagery" at various stages throughout learning and investigate activity changes in corresponding neural structures using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Anticipatory imagery (in silence) for highly familiar naturalistic music was accompanied by pronounced activity in rostral prefrontal cortex (PFC) and premotor areas. Examining changes in the neural bases of anticipatory imagery during two stages of learning conditional associations between simple melodies, however, demonstrates the importance of fronto-striatal connections, consistent with a role of the basal ganglia in "training" frontal cortex (Pasupathy and Miller, 2005). Another striking change in neural resources during learning was a shift between caudal PFC earlier to rostral PFC later in learning. Our findings regarding musical anticipation and sound sequence learning are highly compatible with studies of motor sequence learning, suggesting common predictive mechanisms in both domains.