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Friedel EBN, Tebartz van Elst L, Beringer M, Endres D, Runge K, Maier S, Kornmeier J, Bach M, Domschke K, Heinrich SP, Nickel K. Reduced contrast sensitivity, pattern electroretinogram ratio, and diminished a-wave amplitude in patients with major depressive disorder. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2024:10.1007/s00406-024-01826-8. [PMID: 38805071 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-024-01826-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 05/10/2024] [Indexed: 05/29/2024]
Abstract
The electroretinogram (ERG), a non-invasive electrophysiological tool used in ophthalmology, is increasingly applied to investigate neural correlates of depression. The present study aimed to reconsider previous findings in major depressive disorder (MDD) reporting (1) a diminished contrast sensitivity and (2) a reduced patten ERG (PERG) amplitude ratio, and additionally, to assess (3) the photopic negative response (PhNR) from the flash ERG (fERG), with the RETeval® device, a more practical option for clinical routine use. We examined 30 patients with a MDD and 42 healthy controls (HC), assessing individual contrast sensitivity thresholds with an optotype-based contrast test. Moreover, we compared the PERG ratio, an established method for early glaucoma detection, between both groups. The handheld ERG device was used to measure amplitudes and peak times of the fERG components including a-wave, b-wave and PhNR in both MDD patients and HCs. MDD patients exhibited diminished contrast sensitivity together with a reduced PERG ratio, compared to HC. With the handheld ERG device, we found reduced a-wave amplitudes in MDD, whereas no significant differences were observed in the fERG b-wave or PhNR between patients and controls. The reduced contrast sensitivity and PERG ratio in MDD patients supports the hypothesis that depression is associated with altered visual processing. The findings underscore the PERG's potential as a possible objective marker for depression. The reduced a-wave amplitude recorded with the RETeval® system in MDD patients might open new avenues for using handheld ERG devices as simplified approaches for advancing depression research compared to the PERG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Evelyn B N Friedel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Eye Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Ludger Tebartz van Elst
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Malina Beringer
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Dominique Endres
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kimon Runge
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Simon Maier
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Jürgen Kornmeier
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- Institute for Frontier Areas of Psychology and Mental Health, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Michael Bach
- Eye Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Katharina Domschke
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
- German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Partner Site Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Sven P Heinrich
- Eye Center, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Kathrin Nickel
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
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Qiu S, Luo X, Luo Y, Wei D, Mei G. State-dependent alterations of implicit emotional dominance during binocular rivalry in subthreshold depression. Psych J 2023; 12:809-823. [PMID: 37905936 DOI: 10.1002/pchj.686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2022] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Binocular rivalry, a visual perception phenomenon where two or more percepts alternate every few seconds when distinct stimuli are presented to the two eyes, has been reported as a biomarker in several psychiatric disorders. It is unclear whether abnormalities of binocular rivalry in depression could occur when emotional rivaling stimuli are used, and if so, whether an emotional binocular rivalry test could provide a trait-dependent or state-dependent biomarker. In the current study, 34 individuals with subthreshold depression and 31 non-depressed individuals performed a binocular rivalry task associated with implicit emotional processing. Participants were required to report their perceived orientations of the rival gratings in the foreground and to neglect emotional face stimuli in the background. The participants were retested after an approximately 4-month time interval. Compared to the non-depressed group, the subthreshold depression group showed significantly longer perceptual dominance durations of the grating with emotional faces as the background (i.e., implicit emotional dominance) at the initial assessment. However, the abnormality was not found at the follow-up assessment. More importantly, we found smaller changes in depressive severity at the follow-up assessment for individuals displaying longer emotional dominance at the initial assessment than for individuals with weaker emotional dominance. The current emotional binocular rivalry test may provide an objective, state-dependent biomarker for distinguishing individuals with subthreshold depression from non-depressed individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shiming Qiu
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, People's Republic of China
- School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, People's Republic of China
| | - Xu Luo
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, People's Republic of China
| | - Yuhong Luo
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, People's Republic of China
| | - Dandan Wei
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, People's Republic of China
| | - Gaoxing Mei
- School of Psychology, Guizhou Normal University, Guiyang, People's Republic of China
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