1
|
Laubacher C, Imhoff-Smith TP, Klaus DR, Frye CJ, Esnault S, Busse WW, Rosenkranz MA. Salience network resting state functional connectivity during airway inflammation in asthma: A feature of mental health resilience? Brain Behav Immun 2024; 122:9-17. [PMID: 39097203 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.07.042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2024] [Revised: 07/07/2024] [Accepted: 07/28/2024] [Indexed: 08/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Inflammation is an established contributor to the pathophysiology of depression and the prevalence of depression in those with chronic inflammatory disease is two- to four-fold higher than the general population. Yet little is known about the neurobiological changes that confer depression or resilience to depression, that occur when episodes of heightened inflammation are frequent or span many years. METHODS We used an innovative combination of longitudinal resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging coupled to segmental bronchial provocation with allergen (SBP-Ag) to assess changes in resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) of the salience network (SN) caused by an acute inflammatory exacerbation in twenty-six adults (15 female) with asthma and varying levels of depressive symptoms. Eosinophils measured in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and blood provided an index of allergic inflammation and the Beck Depression Inventory provided an index of depressive symptoms. RESULTS We found that in those with the highest symptoms of depression at baseline, SN rsFC declined most from pre- to post-SBP-Ag in the context of a robust eosinophilic response to challenge, but in those with low depressive symptoms SN rsFC was maintained or increased, even in those with the most pronounced SBP-Ag response. CONCLUSIONS Thus, the maintenance of SN rsFC during inflammation may be a biomarker of resilience to depression, perhaps via more effective orchestration of large-scale brain network dynamics by the SN. These findings advance our understanding of the functional role of the SN during inflammation and inform treatment recommendations for those with comorbid inflammatory disease and depression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Claire Laubacher
- Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 625 W. Washington Ave, Madison, WI 53703, USA
| | - Theodore P Imhoff-Smith
- Department of Radiology, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, 600 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Danika R Klaus
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, 600 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Corrina J Frye
- Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53705, USA
| | - Stephane Esnault
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, 600 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53792, USA; University of Lille, INSERM, CHU Lille, U1286 - INFINITE - Institute for Translational Research in Inflammation, F-59000 Lille, France
| | - William W Busse
- Department of Medicine, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, 600 Highland Ave, Madison, WI 53792, USA
| | - Melissa A Rosenkranz
- Center for Healthy Minds, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 625 W. Washington Ave, Madison, WI 53703, USA; Department of Psychiatry, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 6001 Research Park Blvd, Madison, WI 53719, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Kéri S, Kancsev A, Kelemen O. Algorithm-Based Modular Psychotherapy Alleviates Brain Inflammation in Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Life (Basel) 2024; 14:887. [PMID: 39063640 PMCID: PMC11278507 DOI: 10.3390/life14070887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2024] [Revised: 07/11/2024] [Accepted: 07/15/2024] [Indexed: 07/28/2024] Open
Abstract
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is marked by prolonged and excessive worry, physical signs of anxiety, and associated neuroinflammation. Traditional treatments, like pharmacotherapy and cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), often leave residual symptoms and have high relapse rates. This study aimed to explore the efficacy of algorithm-based modular psychotherapy (MoBa), a combination of CBT and mindfulness meditation as validated by the research domain criteria (RDoC), in reducing anxiety and neuroinflammation in GAD. A longitudinal design was used, with 50 patients with GAD undergoing a 12-week MoBa treatment. The patients were investigated pre- and post-treatment using MRI to measure neuroinflammatory markers (DBSI-RF, diffusion-basis spectral imaging-based restricted fraction) in the hippocampus, amygdala, and neocortex. Clinical symptoms were assessed using the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HAM-A) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7). Results indicated significant reductions in both anxiety symptoms and MRI RF values in the amygdala, suggesting decreased neuroinflammation. A reduction in anxiety was associated with the amelioration of neuroinflammation in the amygdala. These results suggest that MoBa is effective in alleviating both the psychological and neuroinflammatory aspects of GAD, offering a promising personalized treatment approach. Future research should focus on long-term effects and the mechanisms through which MoBa impacts neuroinflammation and anxiety.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Szabolcs Kéri
- Sztárai Institute, University of Tokaj, 3944 Sárospatak, Hungary
- Department of Physiology, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary
| | - Alexander Kancsev
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, András Jósa Hospital, 4400 Nyíregyháza, Hungary;
| | - Oguz Kelemen
- Department of Behavioral Sciences, Albert Szent-Györgyi Medical School, University of Szeged, 6720 Szeged, Hungary;
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Bács-Kiskun County Hospital, 6000 Kecskemét, Hungary
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Sibilia F, Jost-Mousseau C, Banaschewski T, Barker GJ, Büchel C, Desrivières S, Flor H, Grigis A, Garavan H, Gowland P, Heinz A, Ittermann B, Martinot JL, Martinot MLP, Artiges E, Nees F, Orfanos DP, Poustka L, Millenet S, Fröhner JH, Smolka MN, Walter H, Whelan R, Schumann G, Bokde AL. The relationship between negative life events and cortical structural connectivity in adolescents. IBRO Neurosci Rep 2024; 16:201-210. [PMID: 38348392 PMCID: PMC10859284 DOI: 10.1016/j.ibneur.2024.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/27/2024] [Indexed: 02/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Adolescence is a crucial period for physical and psychological development. The impact of negative life events represents a risk factor for the onset of neuropsychiatric disorders. This study aims to investigate the relationship between negative life events and structural brain connectivity, considering both graph theory and connectivity strength. A group (n = 487) of adolescents from the IMAGEN Consortium was divided into Low and High Stress groups. Brain networks were extracted at an individual level, based on morphological similarity between grey matter regions with regions defined using an atlas-based region of interest (ROI) approach. Between-group comparisons were performed with global and local graph theory measures in a range of sparsity levels. The analysis was also performed in a larger sample of adolescents (n = 976) to examine linear correlations between stress level and network measures. Connectivity strength differences were investigated with network-based statistics. Negative life events were not found to be a factor influencing global network measures at any sparsity level. At local network level, between-group differences were found in centrality measures of the left somato-motor network (a decrease of betweenness centrality was seen at sparsity 5%), of the bilateral central visual and the left dorsal attention network (increase of degree at sparsity 10% at sparsity 30% respectively). Network-based statistics analysis showed an increase in connectivity strength in the High stress group in edges connecting the dorsal attention, limbic and salience networks. This study suggests negative life events alone do not alter structural connectivity globally, but they are associated to connectivity properties in areas involved in emotion and attention.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Sibilia
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Coline Jost-Mousseau
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food and Environmental Sciences, Paris, France
| | - Tobias Banaschewski
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Gareth J. Barker
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, United Kingdom
| | - Christian Büchel
- University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, House W34, 3.OG, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Sylvane Desrivières
- Medical Research Council - Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, United Kingdom
| | - Herta Flor
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, Mannheim, Germany
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, 68131 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Antoine Grigis
- NeuroSpin, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
| | - Hugh Garavan
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, 05405 Burlington, VT, USA
| | - Penny Gowland
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Andreas Heinz
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bernd Ittermann
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Braunschweig and Berlin, Germany
| | - Jean-Luc Martinot
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM Unit 1000 “Neuroimaging & Psychiatry”, University Paris Saclay, University Paris Descartes – Sorbonne Paris Cité; and Maison de Solenn, Paris, France
| | - Marie-Laure Paillère Martinot
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM Unit 1000 “Neuroimaging & Psychiatry”, University Paris Saclay, University Paris Descartes; and AP-HP.Sorbonne Université, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France
| | - Eric Artiges
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM Unit 1000 “Neuroimaging & Psychiatry”, University Paris Sud, University Paris Descartes - Sorbonne Paris Cité; and Psychiatry Department 91G16, Orsay Hospital, France
| | - Frauke Nees
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, Mannheim, Germany
| | | | - Luise Poustka
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Centre Göttingen, von-Siebold-Str. 5, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Sabina Millenet
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
| | - Juliane H. Fröhner
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Michael N. Smolka
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Henrik Walter
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany
| | - Robert Whelan
- School of Psychology and Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
| | - Gunter Schumann
- Medical Research Council - Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, United Kingdom
| | - Arun L.W. Bokde
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - IMAGEN Consortium
- Discipline of Psychiatry, School of Medicine and Trinity College Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Paris Institute of Technology for Life, Food and Environmental Sciences, Paris, France
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, United Kingdom
- University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, House W34, 3.OG, Martinistr. 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany
- Medical Research Council - Social, Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, United Kingdom
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Square J5, Mannheim, Germany
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, 68131 Mannheim, Germany
- NeuroSpin, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Vermont, 05405 Burlington, VT, USA
- Sir Peter Mansfield Imaging Centre School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, United Kingdom
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Campus Charité Mitte, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin, Germany
- Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), Braunschweig and Berlin, Germany
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM Unit 1000 “Neuroimaging & Psychiatry”, University Paris Saclay, University Paris Descartes – Sorbonne Paris Cité; and Maison de Solenn, Paris, France
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM Unit 1000 “Neuroimaging & Psychiatry”, University Paris Saclay, University Paris Descartes; and AP-HP.Sorbonne Université, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital, Paris, France
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, INSERM Unit 1000 “Neuroimaging & Psychiatry”, University Paris Sud, University Paris Descartes - Sorbonne Paris Cité; and Psychiatry Department 91G16, Orsay Hospital, France
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Centre Göttingen, von-Siebold-Str. 5, 37075, Göttingen, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
- School of Psychology and Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Negrón-Oyarzo I, Dib T, Chacana-Véliz L, López-Quilodrán N, Urrutia-Piñones J. Large-scale coupling of prefrontal activity patterns as a mechanism for cognitive control in health and disease: evidence from rodent models. Front Neural Circuits 2024; 18:1286111. [PMID: 38638163 PMCID: PMC11024307 DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2024.1286111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 04/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Cognitive control of behavior is crucial for well-being, as allows subject to adapt to changing environments in a goal-directed way. Changes in cognitive control of behavior is observed during cognitive decline in elderly and in pathological mental conditions. Therefore, the recovery of cognitive control may provide a reliable preventive and therapeutic strategy. However, its neural basis is not completely understood. Cognitive control is supported by the prefrontal cortex, structure that integrates relevant information for the appropriate organization of behavior. At neurophysiological level, it is suggested that cognitive control is supported by local and large-scale synchronization of oscillatory activity patterns and neural spiking activity between the prefrontal cortex and distributed neural networks. In this review, we focus mainly on rodent models approaching the neuronal origin of these prefrontal patterns, and the cognitive and behavioral relevance of its coordination with distributed brain systems. We also examine the relationship between cognitive control and neural activity patterns in the prefrontal cortex, and its role in normal cognitive decline and pathological mental conditions. Finally, based on these body of evidence, we propose a common mechanism that may underlie the impaired cognitive control of behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ignacio Negrón-Oyarzo
- Instituto de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Tatiana Dib
- Instituto de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Lorena Chacana-Véliz
- Instituto de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Mención en Neurociencia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Nélida López-Quilodrán
- Instituto de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Mención en Neurociencia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Jocelyn Urrutia-Piñones
- Instituto de Fisiología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
- Programa de Doctorado en Ciencias Mención en Neurociencia, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Valparaíso, Valparaíso, Chile
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Yetter MA, Fitzgerald TR, Philippi CL, Bruce SE. Pro-inflammatory markers are related to cortical network connectivity in women exposed to interpersonal trauma with PTSD. Behav Brain Res 2024:114942. [PMID: 38447761 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbr.2024.114942] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2024] [Accepted: 03/03/2024] [Indexed: 03/08/2024]
Abstract
Exposure to interpersonal violence affects a significant number of individuals each year and further increases the risk for developing Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). A growing body of research suggests that immune system dysfunction, in particular elevated inflammation, may contribute to the pathophysiology of PTSD. However, few studies have examined the neurobiological correlates of inflammation in women with PTSD using resting-state fMRI. The present study explored the relationship between pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor alpha TNF-alpha), and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and resting-state functional connectivity patterns in three major cortical networks (default mode network (DMN), central executive network (CEN), and salience network (SN)) in a sample of women (N=18) exposed to interpersonal violence with PTSD. Results indicated that higher CRP levels were associated with stronger functional connectivity between the SN and visual areas, but weaker functional connectivity between the CEN and visual areas. These findings suggest that pro-inflammatory markers are related to connectivity of task-positive networks in women with PTSD. Further, our results provide evidence for potential neurobiological markers of inflammation in PTSD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marissa A Yetter
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 1 University Blvd., St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA; University of Missouri - St. Louis
| | - Taryn R Fitzgerald
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 1 University Blvd., St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA; University of Missouri - St. Louis
| | - Carissa L Philippi
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 1 University Blvd., St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA; University of Missouri - St. Louis
| | - Steven E Bruce
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 1 University Blvd., St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA; University of Missouri - St. Louis
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Elbasheir A, Felger JC, Michopoulos V, Ely TD, Wommack EC, Carter SE, Harnett NG, Fani N. C-reactive protein moderates associations between racial discrimination and ventromedial prefrontal cortex activation during attention to threat in Black American women. Neuropsychopharmacology 2024; 49:593-599. [PMID: 37752223 PMCID: PMC10789862 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01737-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/28/2023]
Abstract
Prior research has shown that racial discrimination (RD) impacts activation in threat network regions, including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and middle occipital cortex during attention to threat-relevant stimuli. However, little is known about the biological mechanisms that may modulate these effects; inflammation may be a pathway linking RD and threat network activation. As such, the current study aimed to explore whether systemic inflammation, measured by C-reactive protein (CRP) levels, may moderate the relationship between RD and activation in the vmPFC and middle occipital cortex during attention to threat. Blood samples for inflammatory marker (CRP) assays were obtained from forty Black American women (mean [SD] age, 39.93 [9.97] years; range, 22-58 years) recruited from an ongoing trauma study; participants also viewed threat-relevant stimuli as part of an attention task during fMRI. We found that CRP moderated the relationship between RD and vmPFC activation during attention to threat, such that participants with relatively higher concentrations of CRP ( ≥ 23.97 mg/L) demonstrated significant positive associations between RD and vmPFC activation [β = 0.18, CI (0.04, 0.32), t = 2.65, p = 0.01]. No significant associations were observed for participants who showed moderate (10.89 mg/L) or low (0.20 mg/L) CRP concentrations. CRP did not moderate the relationship between RD and middle occipital cortex activation. Our data present a mechanism through which RD may influence immune system activation and, in turn, threat network activation. Inflammation may contribute to brain health vulnerabilities in Black Americans via its effects on threat circuits; this merits further investigation in large-scale studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Aziz Elbasheir
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Jennifer C Felger
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Vasiliki Michopoulos
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Tim D Ely
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Evanthia C Wommack
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Sierra E Carter
- Department of Psychology, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | | | - Negar Fani
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Zhang W, Rutlin J, Eisenstein SA, Wang Y, Barch DM, Hershey T, Bogdan R, Bijsterbosch JD. Neuroinflammation in the Amygdala Is Associated With Recent Depressive Symptoms. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2023; 8:967-975. [PMID: 37164312 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2023.04.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/22/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/29/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Converging evidence suggests that elevated inflammation may contribute to depression. Yet, the link between peripheral inflammation and neuroinflammation in depression is unclear. Here, using data from the UK Biobank, we estimated associations among depression, C-reactive protein (CRP) as a measure of peripheral inflammation, and neuroinflammation as indexed by diffusion basis spectral imaging-based restricted fraction (DBSI-RF). METHODS DBSI-RF was derived from diffusion-weighted imaging data (N = 11,512) for whole-brain gray matter (global-RF), and regions of interest in the bilateral amygdala (amygdala-RF) and hippocampus (hippocampus-RF), and CRP was estimated from blood (serum) samples. Self-reported recent depression symptoms were measured using a 4-item assessment. Linear regressions were used to estimate associations between CRP and DBSI-RFs with depression while adjusting for the following covariates: age, sex, body mass index, smoking, drinking, and medical conditions. RESULTS Elevated CRP was associated with higher depression symptoms (β = 0.04, false discovery rate-corrected p < .005) and reduced global-RF (β = -0.03, false discovery rate-corrected p < .001). Higher amygdala-RF was associated with elevated depression-an effect resilient to added covariates and CRP (β = 0.02, false discovery rate-corrected p < .05). Interestingly, this association was stronger in individuals with a lifetime history of depression (β = 0.07, p < .005) than in those without (β = 0.03, p < .05). Associations between global-RF or hippocampus-RF with depression were not significant, and no DBSI-RF indices indirectly linked CRP with depression (i.e., mediation effect). CONCLUSIONS Peripheral inflammation and DBSI-RF neuroinflammation in the amygdala are independently associated with depression, consistent with animal studies suggesting distinct pathways of peripheral inflammation and neuroinflammation in the pathophysiology of depression and with investigations highlighting the role of the amygdala in stress-induced inflammation and depression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Wei Zhang
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri.
| | - Jerrel Rutlin
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Sarah A Eisenstein
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Yong Wang
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Electrical and Systems Engineering, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Deanna M Barch
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Tamara Hershey
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri; Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| | - Ryan Bogdan
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri.
| | - Janine D Bijsterbosch
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Boyle CC, Bower JE, Eisenberger NI, Irwin MR. Stress to inflammation and anhedonia: Mechanistic insights from preclinical and clinical models. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 152:105307. [PMID: 37419230 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105307] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2022] [Revised: 06/30/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 07/09/2023]
Abstract
Anhedonia, as evidenced by impaired pleasurable response to reward, reduced reward motivation, and/or deficits in reward-related learning, is a common feature of depression. Such deficits in reward processing are also an important clinical target as a risk factor for depression onset. Unfortunately, reward-related deficits remain difficult to treat. To address this gap and inform the development of effective prevention and treatment strategies, it is critical to understand the mechanisms that drive impairments in reward function. Stress-induced inflammation is a plausible mechanism of reward deficits. The purpose of this paper is to review evidence for two components of this psychobiological pathway: 1) the effects of stress on reward function; and 2) the effects of inflammation on reward function. Within these two areas, we draw upon preclinical and clinical models, distinguish between acute and chronic effects of stress and inflammation, and address specific domains of reward dysregulation. By addressing these contextual factors, the review reveals a nuanced literature which might be targeted for additional scientific inquiry to inform the development of precise interventions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chloe C Boyle
- Norman Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, USA.
| | - Julienne E Bower
- Norman Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, USA; Department of Psychology, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Michael R Irwin
- Norman Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, UCLA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Coccaro EF, Lee R, Breen EC, Irwin MR. Plasma and cerebrospinal fluid inflammatory markers and human aggression. Neuropsychopharmacology 2023; 48:1060-1066. [PMID: 36804488 PMCID: PMC10209212 DOI: 10.1038/s41386-023-01541-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/24/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
Abstract
A growing body of work suggests that individuals with aggressive behavior and/or aggressive tendencies have evidence of chronic, low level, inflammation as manifested by elevated circulating levels of acute phase reactant proteins and pro-inflammatory cytokines. While animal studies report that direct application of pro-inflammatory proteins in brain increase aggressive behavior, there is no data on the relationship of central levels of these proteins and aggression in human subjects. We simultaneously measured levels of both plasma and lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) C-Reactive Protein (CRP) and IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α in 77 medically healthy, drug-free, individuals with varying degrees of aggression including 22 individuals with DSM-5 Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED). Aggression was assessed using the Life History of Aggression (LHA) and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BPAQ). Plasma and CSF levels of CRP, IL-8, and TNF-α, but not IL-6, correlated significantly with each other. Aggressive individuals with IED displayed elevated plasma, but not CSF, levels of proinflammatory markers and this relationship was specific to IED. Similarly, composite aggression scores correlated significantly with plasma, but not CSF, pro-inflammatory markers. Aggressive behavior in humans is correlated with Plasma, but not CSF, proinflammatory markers despite the observation that these two sets of markers are significantly correlated. Since the direct application of proinflammatory proteins in brains of animals increase aggressive behavior, proinflammatory proteins likely influence brain-based behavior in a manner not reflected in lumbar CSF.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emil F Coccaro
- Clinical Neuroscience and Psychotherapeutics Research Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, Columbus, OH, USA.
| | - Royce Lee
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience, The University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Elizabeth C Breen
- Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences and Medicine, Norman Cousins Center, and Semel Institute, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Michael R Irwin
- Department of Psychiatry & Biobehavioral Sciences and Medicine, Norman Cousins Center, and Semel Institute, UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Goldsmith DR, Bekhbat M, Mehta ND, Felger JC. Inflammation-Related Functional and Structural Dysconnectivity as a Pathway to Psychopathology. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 93:405-418. [PMID: 36725140 PMCID: PMC9895884 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.11.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 35.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 11/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Findings from numerous laboratories and across neuroimaging modalities have consistently shown that exogenous administration of cytokines or inflammatory stimuli that induce cytokines disrupts circuits and networks involved in motivation and motor activity, threat detection, anxiety, and interoceptive and emotional processing. While inflammatory effects on neural circuits and relevant behaviors may represent adaptive responses promoting conservation of energy and heightened vigilance during immune activation, chronically elevated inflammation may contribute to symptoms of psychiatric illnesses. Indeed, biomarkers of inflammation such as cytokines and acute phase reactants are reliably elevated in a subset of patients with unipolar or bipolar depression, anxiety-related disorders, and schizophrenia and have been associated with differential treatment responses and poor clinical outcomes. A growing body of literature also describes higher levels of endogenous inflammatory markers and altered, typically lower functional or structural connectivity within these circuits in association with transdiagnostic symptoms such as anhedonia and anxiety in psychiatric and at-risk populations. This review presents recent evidence that inflammation and its effects on the brain may serve as one molecular and cellular mechanism of dysconnectivity within anatomically and/or functionally connected cortical and subcortical regions in association with transdiagnostic symptoms. We also discuss the need to establish reproducible methods to assess inflammation-associated dysconnectivity in relation to behavior for use in translational studies or biomarker-driven clinical trials for novel pharmacological or behavioral interventions targeting inflammation or its effects on the brain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David R Goldsmith
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Mandakh Bekhbat
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Neeti D Mehta
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; Neuroscience Graduate Program, Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia
| | - Jennifer C Felger
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia; Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Holz NE, Berhe O, Sacu S, Schwarz E, Tesarz J, Heim CM, Tost H. Early Social Adversity, Altered Brain Functional Connectivity, and Mental Health. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 93:430-441. [PMID: 36581495 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2022] [Revised: 10/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/31/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Early adverse environmental exposures during brain development are widespread risk factors for the onset of severe mental disorders and strong and consistent predictors of stress-related mental and physical illness and reduced life expectancy. Current evidence suggests that early negative experiences alter plasticity processes during developmentally sensitive time windows and affect the regular functional interaction of cortical and subcortical neural networks. This, in turn, may promote a maladapted development with negative consequences on the mental and physical health of exposed individuals. In this review, we discuss the role of functional magnetic resonance imaging-based functional connectivity phenotypes as potential biomarker candidates for the consequences of early environmental exposures-including but not limited to-childhood maltreatment. We take an expanded concept of developmentally relevant adverse experiences from infancy over childhood to adolescence as our starting point and focus our review of functional connectivity studies on a selected subset of functional magnetic resonance imaging-based phenotypes, including connectivity in the limbic and within the frontoparietal as well as default mode networks, for which we believe there is sufficient converging evidence for a more detailed discussion in a developmental context. Furthermore, we address specific methodological challenges and current knowledge gaps that complicate the interpretation of early stress effects on functional connectivity and deserve particular attention in future studies. Finally, we highlight the forthcoming prospects and challenges of this research area with regard to establishing functional connectivity measures as validated biomarkers for brain developmental processes and individual risk stratification and as target phenotypes for mechanism-based interventions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie E Holz
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein, Kiel University, Kiel, Germany; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Oksana Berhe
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Seda Sacu
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Emanuel Schwarz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Jonas Tesarz
- Department of General Internal Medicine and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Christine M Heim
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Psychology, Berlin, Germany; College of Health and Human Development, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania
| | - Heike Tost
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
Bao H, Yan J, Huang J, Deng W, Zhang C, Liu C, Huang A, Zhang Q, Xiong Y, Wang Q, Wu H, Hou L. Activation of endogenous retrovirus triggers microglial immuno-inflammation and contributes to negative emotional behaviors in mice with chronic stress. J Neuroinflammation 2023; 20:37. [PMID: 36793064 PMCID: PMC9933381 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-023-02724-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The "missing" link of complex and multifaceted interplay among endogenous retroviruses (ERVs) transcription, chronic immuno-inflammation, and the development of psychiatric disorders is still far from being completely clarified. The present study was aimed to investigate the mechanism of protective role of inhibiting ERVs on reversing microglial immuno-inflammation in basolateral amygdala (BLA) in chronic stress-induced negative emotional behaviors in mice. METHODS Male C57BL/6 mice were exposed to chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) for 6 w. Negative emotional behaviors were comprehensively investigated to identify the susceptible mice. Microglial morphology, ERVs transcription, intrinsic nucleic acids sensing response, and immuno-inflammation in BLA were assessed. RESULTS Mice with chronic stress were presented as obviously depressive- and anxiety-like behaviors, and accompanied with significant microglial morphological activation, murine ERVs genes MuERV-L, MusD, and IAP transcription, cGAS-IFI16-STING pathway activation, NF-κB signaling pathway priming, as well as NLRP3 inflammasome activation in BLA. Antiretroviral therapy, pharmacological inhibition of reverse transcriptases, as well as knocking-down the ERVs transcriptional regulation gene p53 significantly inhibited microglial ERVs transcription and immuno-inflammation in BLA, as well as improved the chronic stress-induced negative emotional behaviors. CONCLUSIONS Our results provided an innovative therapeutic approach that targeting ERVs-associated microglial immuno-inflammation may be beneficial to the patients with psychotic disorders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Han Bao
- grid.12955.3a0000 0001 2264 7233Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen University, No. 2000, East of Xiang’an Rd, Xiamen, 361102 China
| | - Jinqi Yan
- grid.452438.c0000 0004 1760 8119Department of Critical Care Medicine, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, 710061 China
| | - Jiancheng Huang
- grid.12955.3a0000 0001 2264 7233Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen University, No. 2000, East of Xiang’an Rd, Xiamen, 361102 China
| | - Wenjuan Deng
- grid.12955.3a0000 0001 2264 7233Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen University, No. 2000, East of Xiang’an Rd, Xiamen, 361102 China
| | - Ce Zhang
- grid.12955.3a0000 0001 2264 7233Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen University, No. 2000, East of Xiang’an Rd, Xiamen, 361102 China
| | - Cong Liu
- grid.12955.3a0000 0001 2264 7233Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen University, No. 2000, East of Xiang’an Rd, Xiamen, 361102 China
| | - Ailing Huang
- grid.12955.3a0000 0001 2264 7233Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen University, No. 2000, East of Xiang’an Rd, Xiamen, 361102 China
| | - Qiao Zhang
- grid.12955.3a0000 0001 2264 7233Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen University, No. 2000, East of Xiang’an Rd, Xiamen, 361102 China
| | - Ying Xiong
- grid.12955.3a0000 0001 2264 7233Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Xiang’an Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen University, No. 2000, East of Xiang’an Rd, Xiamen, 361102 China
| | - Qiang Wang
- Department of Anesthesiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University, No. 277, West of Yanta Rd, Xi'an, 710061, China.
| | - Huanghui Wu
- Translational Research Institute of Brain and Brain-Like Intelligence, School of Medicine, Shanghai Fourth People's Hospital, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200434, China. .,Shanghai Key Laboratory of Anesthesiology and Brain Functional Modulation, No.1279, Sanmen Rd, Shanghai, 200434, China.
| | - Lichao Hou
- Department of Anesthesiology, School of Medicine, Xiang'an Hospital of Xiamen University, Xiamen University, No. 2000, East of Xiang'an Rd, Xiamen, 361102, China.
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Chen C, Yip HT, Leong KH, Yao WC, Hung CL, Su CH, Kuo CF, Tsai SY. Presence of depression and anxiety with distinct patterns of pharmacological treatments before the diagnosis of chronic fatigue syndrome: a population-based study in Taiwan. J Transl Med 2023; 21:98. [PMID: 36755267 PMCID: PMC9907887 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-023-03886-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE An increased prevalence of psychiatric comorbidities (including depression and anxiety disorder) has been observed among patients with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). However, few studies have examined the presence of depression and anxiety disorder before the diagnosis of CFS. This study aimed to clarify the preexisting comorbidities and treatments associated with patients with subsequent CFS diagnosis in a population-based cohort in Taiwan. METHODS An analysis utilizing the National Health Insurance Research Database of Taiwan was conducted. Participants included were 6303 patients with CFS newly diagnosed between 2000 and 2010 and 6303 age-/sex-matched controls. RESULTS Compared with the control group, the CFS group had a higher prevalence of depression and anxiety disorder before the diagnosis of CFS. Sampled patients who took specific types of antidepressants, namely, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.21, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.04-1.39), serotonin antagonists and reuptake inhibitors (SARI; aOR = 1.87, 95% CI 1.59-2.19), and tricyclic antidepressants (aOR = 1.46, 95% CI 1.09-1.95), had an increased risk of CFS. CFS risk was also higher among participants taking benzodiazepine, muscle relaxants, and analgesic drugs. A sub-group analysis revealed that SARI use was related to an increased risk of CFS in the depression, anxiety disorder, male, and female groups. In the depression and anxiety disorder groups, analgesic drug use was associated with an increased CFS risk. Nonpharmacological treatment administration differed between men and women. CONCLUSION This population-based retrospective cohort study revealed an increased risk of CFS among populations with preexisting depression and anxiety disorder, especially those taking SARI and analgesic drugs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chi Chen
- grid.412094.a0000 0004 0572 7815Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Hei-Tung Yip
- grid.411508.90000 0004 0572 9415Management Office for Health Data, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung, 404 Taiwan
| | - Kam-Hang Leong
- grid.452449.a0000 0004 1762 5613Department of Medicine, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City, 252 Taiwan ,grid.413593.90000 0004 0573 007XDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, 104 Taiwan
| | - Wei-Cheng Yao
- grid.415675.40000 0004 0572 8359Department of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, Min-Sheng General Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Chung-Lieh Hung
- grid.452449.a0000 0004 1762 5613Institute of Biomedical Sciences, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Huang Su
- grid.413593.90000 0004 0573 007XDepartment of Laboratory Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, 104 Taiwan
| | - Chien-Feng Kuo
- grid.452449.a0000 0004 1762 5613Department of Medicine, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City, 252 Taiwan ,Department of Nursing, Nursing and Management, MacKay Junior College of Medicine, New Taipei City, 25245 Taiwan ,grid.413593.90000 0004 0573 007XDivision of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Shin-Yi Tsai
- Department of Medicine, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City, 252, Taiwan. .,Department of Laboratory Medicine, MacKay Memorial Hospital, Taipei, 104, Taiwan. .,Institute of Biomedical Sciences, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan. .,Institute of Long-Term Care, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan. .,Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Scangos KW, State MW, Miller AH, Baker JT, Williams LM. New and emerging approaches to treat psychiatric disorders. Nat Med 2023; 29:317-333. [PMID: 36797480 PMCID: PMC11219030 DOI: 10.1038/s41591-022-02197-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 02/18/2023]
Abstract
Psychiatric disorders are highly prevalent, often devastating diseases that negatively impact the lives of millions of people worldwide. Although their etiological and diagnostic heterogeneity has long challenged drug discovery, an emerging circuit-based understanding of psychiatric illness is offering an important alternative to the current reliance on trial and error, both in the development and in the clinical application of treatments. Here we review new and emerging treatment approaches, with a particular emphasis on the revolutionary potential of brain-circuit-based interventions for precision psychiatry. Limitations of circuit models, challenges of bringing precision therapeutics to market and the crucial advances needed to overcome these obstacles are presented.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Katherine W Scangos
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA.
| | - Matthew W State
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, UCSF Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Andrew H Miller
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Justin T Baker
- McLean Hospital Institute for Technology in Psychiatry, Belmont, MA, USA
| | - Leanne M Williams
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
- Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Xu H, Jin T, Zhang R, Xie H, Zhuang C, Zhang Y, Kong D, Xiao G, Yu X. Cerebral cortex and hippocampus neural interaction during vagus nerve stimulation under in vivo large-scale imaging. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1131063. [PMID: 36937685 PMCID: PMC10017477 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1131063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2022] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Objective The purpose of this study was to study mechanisms of VNS modulation from a single neuron perspective utilizing a practical observation platform with single neuron resolution and widefield, real-time imaging coupled with an animal model simultaneously exposing the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus. Methods We utilized the observation platform characterized of widefield of view, real-time imaging, and high spatiotemporal resolution to obtain the neuronal activities in the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus during VNS in awake states and under anesthesia. Results Some neurons in the hippocampus were tightly related to VNS modulation, and varied types of neurons showed distinct responses to VNS modulation. Conclusion We utilized such an observation platform coupled with a novel animal model to obtain more information on neuron activities in the cerebral cortex and the hippocampus, providing an effective method to further study the mechanisms of therapeutic effects modulated by VNS.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hanyun Xu
- Chinese PLA Medical School, Beijing, China
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Tingting Jin
- Pulmonary and Critical Care Department, Wuhu Hospital of East China Normal University, Wuhu, Anhui, China
| | - Rujin Zhang
- Department of Anesthesiology, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Hao Xie
- Department of Automation, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Chaowei Zhuang
- Department of Automation, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Yanyang Zhang
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Dongsheng Kong
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Guihua Xiao
- Department of Automation, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- BNRist, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
- *Correspondence: Guihua Xiao,
| | - Xinguang Yu
- Department of Neurosurgery, The First Medical Center of Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
- Xinguang Yu,
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Felger JC. Increased Inflammation and Treatment of Depression: From Resistance to Reuse, Repurposing, and Redesign. ADVANCES IN NEUROBIOLOGY 2023; 30:387-416. [PMID: 36928859 DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-21054-9_16] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/18/2023]
Abstract
Based on mounting clinical and translational evidence demonstrating the impact of exogenously administered inflammatory stimuli on the brain and behavior, increased endogenous inflammation has received attention as one pathophysiologic process contributing to psychiatric illnesses and particularly depression. Increased endogenous inflammation is observed in a significant proportion of depressed patients and has been associated with reduced responsiveness to standard antidepressant therapies. This chapter presents recent evidence that inflammation affects neurotransmitters and neurocircuits to contribute to specific depressive symptoms including anhedonia, motor slowing, and anxiety, which may preferentially improve after anti-cytokine therapies in patients with evidence of increased inflammation. Existing and novel pharmacological strategies that target inflammation or its downstream effects on the brain and behavior will be discussed in the context of a need for intelligent trial design in order to meaningfully translate these concepts and develop more precise therapies for depressed patients with increased inflammation.
Collapse
|
17
|
Zhao X, Logue MW, Hawn SE, Neale ZE, Zhou Z, Huber BR, Miller MW, Wolf EJ. PTSD, major depression, and advanced transcriptomic age in brain tissue. Depress Anxiety 2022; 39:824-834. [PMID: 36281744 PMCID: PMC9729392 DOI: 10.1002/da.23289] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 09/29/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Psychiatric disorders have been associated with advanced epigenetic age in DNA methylation, yet this relationship has not been studied in the brain transcriptome. We examined transcriptomic age using an RNA-based algorithm recently developed by Ren and Kuan ("RNAAgeCalc") and the associations between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), major depressive disorder (MDD), and alcohol use disorder with age-adjusted RNA age ("RNA age residuals") in three brain regions: dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and motor cortex. METHODS RNA sequencing was used to measure gene expression in postmortem brain tissue from the VA National PTSD Brain Bank (n = 94; 59% male). RESULTS Linear models revealed that diagnoses of PTSD and/or MDD were positively associated with RNA age residuals in vmPFC only (p-adj = 0.012). Three genes in the RNAAgeCalc algorithm (KCNJ16, HYAL2, and CEBPB) were also differentially expressed in association with PTSD/MDD in vmPFC (p-adj = 6.45E-05 to 0.02). Enrichment analysis revealed that inflammatory and immune-related pathways were overrepresented (p-adj < 0.05) among the 43 genes in RNAAgeCalc that were also at least nominally associated with PTSD/MDD in vmPFC relative to the 448 RNAAgeCalc genes. Endothelial and mural cells were negatively associated with RNA age residuals in vmPFC (both p-adj = 0.028) and with PTSD/MDD (both p-adj = 0.017). CONCLUSIONS Results highlight the importance of inflammation and immune system dysregulation in the link between psychopathology and accelerated cellular aging and raise the possibility that blood-brain barrier degradation may play an important role in stress-related accelerated brain aging.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiang Zhao
- National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mark W. Logue
- National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Biomedical Genetics, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Sage E. Hawn
- National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Zoe E. Neale
- National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Zhenwei Zhou
- Department of Biostatistics, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Bertrand R. Huber
- National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | | | - Mark W. Miller
- National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Erika J. Wolf
- National Center for PTSD at VA Boston Healthcare System, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Chen YL, Huang TH, Tu PC, Bai YM, Su TP, Chen MH, Hong JS, Wu YT. Neurobiological Markers for Predicting Treatment Response in Patients with Bipolar Disorder. Biomedicines 2022; 10:biomedicines10123047. [PMID: 36551802 PMCID: PMC9775451 DOI: 10.3390/biomedicines10123047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 11/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Predictive neurobiological markers for prognosis are essential but underemphasized for patients with bipolar disorder (BD), a neuroprogressive disorder. Hence, we developed models for predicting symptom and functioning changes. Sixty-one patients with BD were recruited and assessed using the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Montgomery−Åsberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), UKU Side Effect Rating Scale (UKU), Personal and Social Performance Scale (PSP), and Global Assessment of Functioning scale both at baseline and after 1-year follow-up. The models for predicting the changes in symptom and functioning scores were trained using data on the brain morphology, functional connectivity, and cytokines collected at baseline. The correlation between the predicted and actual changes in the YMRS, MADRS, PANSS, and UKU scores was higher than 0.86 (q < 0.05). Connections from subcortical and cerebellar regions were considered for predicting the changes in the YMRS, MADRS, and UKU scores. Moreover, connections of the motor network were considered for predicting the changes in the YMRS and MADRS scores. The neurobiological markers for predicting treatment-response symptoms and functioning changes were consistent with the neuropathology of BD and with the differences found between treatment responders and nonresponders.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yen-Ling Chen
- Department of Occupational Therapy, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung 840, Taiwan
| | - Tzu-Hsuan Huang
- Institute of Biophotonics, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Chi Tu
- Department of Medical Research and Education, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Institute of Philosophy of Mind and Cognition, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Mei Bai
- Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Correspondence: (Y.-M.B.); (Y.-T.W.)
| | - Tung-Ping Su
- Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, Cheng-Hsin General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Mu-Hong Chen
- Department of Psychiatry, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Division of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Jia-Sheng Hong
- Institute of Biophotonics, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
| | - Yu-Te Wu
- Institute of Biophotonics, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Brain Research Center, National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University, Taipei 112, Taiwan
- Correspondence: (Y.-M.B.); (Y.-T.W.)
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Corrêa FI, Souza PHL, Uehara L, Ritti-Dias RM, Oliveira da Silva G, Segheto W, Pacheco-Barrios K, Fregni F, Corrêa JCF. Transcutaneous Auricular Vagus Nerve Stimulation Improves Inflammation but Does Not Interfere with Cardiac Modulation and Clinical Symptoms of Individuals with COVID-19: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12101644. [PMID: 36295080 PMCID: PMC9604701 DOI: 10.3390/life12101644] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Revised: 10/12/2022] [Accepted: 10/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Transcranial auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) has shown effectiveness in reducing inflammation and depression. Thus, this study evaluated its effect on inflammation, cardiac autonomic modulation, and clinical symptoms in individuals affected by COVID-19. Methods: There were 52 randomized participants hospitalized with COVID-19 diagnosis who were to receive active (a-taVNS) or sham taVNS (s-taVNS) for 90 min twice a day for seven consecutive days. Interleukin 6 (IL-6), 10 (IL-10), cortisol, C-reactive protein (CRP), heart rate variability (HRV), and clinical symptoms were assessed before and after seven days of treatment. There were also seven- and fourteen-day follow-ups for clinical symptoms, including anxiety and depression levels, as well as a six-month follow-up for memory and attention levels. Results: There was significant reduction in CRP −23.9%, (95% CI −46.3 to −1.4) and IL-6 −37.7%, (95% CI −57.6 to −17.7) for the a-taVNS group. There were no changes in IL-10, cortisol levels, or in HRV results (p > 0.05) in both groups. There were no changes regarding clinical symptoms, except for a significant decrease in depression level (−2.85, 95% CI −5.44 to −0.27) in the a-taVNS group. Conclusion: taVNS showed effects on CRP, IL-6, and depression levels; however, it did not affect other clinical symptoms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fernanda Ishida Corrêa
- Doctoral and Master’s Programs in Rehabilitation Sciences, Nove de Julho University, São Paulo 01525-000, Brazil
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +55-11-973440380
| | - Paulo Henrique Leite Souza
- Doctoral and Master’s Programs in Rehabilitation Sciences, Nove de Julho University, São Paulo 01525-000, Brazil
| | - Laura Uehara
- Doctoral and Master’s Programs in Rehabilitation Sciences, Nove de Julho University, São Paulo 01525-000, Brazil
| | - Raphael Mendes Ritti-Dias
- Doctoral and Master’s Programs in Rehabilitation Sciences, Nove de Julho University, São Paulo 01525-000, Brazil
| | - Gustavo Oliveira da Silva
- Doctoral and Master’s Programs in Rehabilitation Sciences, Nove de Julho University, São Paulo 01525-000, Brazil
| | - Wellington Segheto
- Doctoral and Master’s Programs in Rehabilitation Sciences, Nove de Julho University, São Paulo 01525-000, Brazil
| | - Kevin Pacheco-Barrios
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
- Unidad de Investigación para la Generación y Síntesede Evidencias en Salud, Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola, Lima 15024, Peru
| | - Felipe Fregni
- Neuromodulation Center and Center for Clinical Research Learning, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02114, USA
| | - João Carlos Ferrari Corrêa
- Doctoral and Master’s Programs in Rehabilitation Sciences, Nove de Julho University, São Paulo 01525-000, Brazil
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Bekhbat M, Li Z, Mehta ND, Treadway MT, Lucido MJ, Woolwine BJ, Haroon E, Miller AH, Felger JC. Functional connectivity in reward circuitry and symptoms of anhedonia as therapeutic targets in depression with high inflammation: evidence from a dopamine challenge study. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:4113-4121. [PMID: 35927580 PMCID: PMC9718669 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01715-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2021] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/19/2022] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
Increased inflammation in major depressive disorder (MDD) has been associated with low functional connectivity (FC) in corticostriatal reward circuits and symptoms of anhedonia, relationships which may involve the impact of inflammation on synthesis and release of dopamine. To test this hypothesis while establishing a platform to examine target engagement of potential therapies in patients with increased inflammation, medically stable unmedicated adult MDD outpatients enrolled to have a range of inflammation (as indexed by plasma C-reactive protein [CRP] levels) were studied at two visits involving acute challenge with the dopamine precursor levodopa (L-DOPA; 250 mg) and placebo (double-blind, randomized order ~1-week apart). The primary outcome of resting-state (rs)FC in a classic ventral striatum to ventromedial prefrontal cortex reward circuit was calculated using a targeted, a priori approach. Data available both pre- and post-challenge (n = 31/40) established stability of rsFC across visits and determined CRP > 2 mg/L as a cut-point for patients exhibiting positive FC responses (post minus pre) to L-DOPA versus placebo (p < 0.01). Higher post-L-DOPA FC in patients with CRP > 2 mg/L was confirmed in all patients (n = 40) where rsFC data were available post-challenge (B = 0.15, p = 0.006), and in those with task-based (tb)FC during reward anticipation (B = 0.15, p = 0.013). While effort-based motivation outside the scanner positively correlated with rsFC independent of treatment or CRP, change in anhedonia scores negatively correlated with rsFC after L-DOPA only in patients with CRP > 2 mg/L (r = -0.56, p = 0.012). FC in reward circuitry should be further validated in larger samples as a biomarker of target engagement for potential treatments including dopaminergic agents in MDD patients with increased inflammation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mandakh Bekhbat
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Zhihao Li
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
- School of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, 518060, Guangdong Sheng, China
| | - Namrataa D Mehta
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Michael T Treadway
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
- Department of Psychology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
- The Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Michael J Lucido
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Bobbi J Woolwine
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Ebrahim Haroon
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
- The Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Andrew H Miller
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
- The Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Jennifer C Felger
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
- The Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Mehta ND, Stevens JS, Li Z, Fani N, Gillespie CF, Ravi M, Michopoulos V, Felger JC. Inflammation, amygdala-ventromedial prefrontal functional connectivity and symptoms of anxiety and PTSD in African American women recruited from an inner-city hospital: Preliminary results. Brain Behav Immun 2022; 105:122-130. [PMID: 35772683 PMCID: PMC11041384 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.06.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023] Open
Abstract
Inflammatory stimuli have been shown to impact brain regions involved in threat detection and emotional processing including amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), and to increase anxiety. Biomarkers of endogenous inflammation, including inflammatory cytokines and C-reactive protein (CRP), are reliably elevated in a subset of patients with depression and anxiety-related disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and have been associated with high anxiety in population studies. We previously reported that plasma CRP and cytokines in patients with depression were negatively correlated with resting-state functional connectivity (FC) between right amygdala and vmPFC, as assessed using both ROI to voxel-wise and targeted FC approaches, in association with symptoms of anxiety, particularly in patients with comorbid anxiety disorders or PTSD. To determine whether relationships between inflammation, right amygdala-vmPFC FC, and anxiety are reproducible across patient samples and research settings, we employed an a priori, hypothesis-driven approach to examine relationships between inflammation, targeted right amygdala-vmPFC FC and anxiety in a cohort of African American (AA) women (n = 54) recruited from an inner-city hospital population reliably found to have higher levels of inflammation (median CRP ∼ 4 mg/L) as well as symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD. Higher concentrations of plasma CRP were associated with lower right amygdala-vmPFC FC (r = -0.32, p = 0.017), and this relationship remained significant when controlling for age, body mass index and number of lifetime trauma events experienced, as well as severity of PTSD and depression symptoms (all p < 0.05). This amygdala-vmPFC FC was similarly associated with a composite score of three inflammatory cytokines in a subset of women where plasma was available for analysis (n = 33, r = -0.33, p = 0.058; adjusted r = -0.43, p = 0.026 when controlling for covariates including PTSD and depression symptom severity). Lower right amygdala-vmPFC FC was in turn associated with higher levels of anxiety reported to be generally experienced on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, trait component (adjusted r = -0.32, p = 0.039 when controlling for covariates). Exploratory analyses also revealed a negative correlation between severity of childhood maltreatment and right amygdala-vmPFC FC (r = -0.32, p = 0.018) that was independent of CRP and its association with FC, as well as an association between low amygdala-vmPFC FC and severity of PTSD symptoms, specifically the re-experiencing/intrusive symptom subscale (adjusted r = -0.32, p = 0.028 when controlling for covariates). While CRP was not linearly associated with either anxiety or PTSD symptoms, CRP concentrations were higher in women reporting clinically significant anxiety or PTSD symptom severity when these symptoms were considered together (both p < 0.05), but with no interaction. These results support our primary hypothesis that higher inflammation was associated with lower amygdala-vmPFC FC, a relationship that was detected using a hypothesis-driven, targeted approach. Findings also support that this phenotype of high CRP and low vmPFC FC was observed in association with anxiety in primary analyses, as well as symptoms of PTSD in exploratory analyses, in a cohort recruited from an inner-city population of AA women enriched for high inflammation, history of trauma exposure, and symptom severity. Larger, longitudinal samples are required to fully tease apart causal relationships between inflammatory biomarkers, FC and PTSD-related symptoms in future studies.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Neeti D Mehta
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
| | - Jennifer S Stevens
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
| | - Zhihao Li
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; School of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Sheng, 518060, China; Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong Sheng, 518060, China
| | - Negar Fani
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
| | - Charles F Gillespie
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
| | - Meghna Ravi
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, Graduate Division of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States
| | - Vasiliki Michopoulos
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Yerkes National Primate Research Center, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.
| | - Jennifer C Felger
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States; Winship Cancer Institute, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, United States.
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Swartz JR, Carranza AF, Knodt AR, Irwin MR, Hostinar CE. Associations between peripheral inflammatory markers and amygdala activity and connectivity in response to emotional faces in adolescents. Brain Behav Immun 2022; 105:98-108. [PMID: 35781009 PMCID: PMC9531728 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.06.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 06/09/2022] [Accepted: 06/28/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Research in adults suggests that higher peripheral inflammation is associated with increased threat-related amygdala activity and reduced cortico-amygdala connectivity. However, there is limited research in adolescents, which is striking given the major developmental changes that occur in cortico-amygdala circuitry during adolescence. In this study, we examine the association between peripheral inflammation and amygdala activity and connectivity to emotional faces in a community sample of adolescents. Participants included 88 adolescents 12 to 15 years old who provided a blood sample and underwent fMRI scanning while completing a face and shape matching task that included fearful, angry, and happy faces. Blood samples were assayed for interleukin-6 (IL-6), C-reactive protein (CRP), and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α); IL-6 and CRP were combined into a composite due to their high correlation and TNF-α was analyzed separately. Results indicated that higher TNF-α, but not the composite of IL-6 and CRP, was associated with increased amygdala activity to threatening (fearful and angry) faces and to happy faces, relative to shape matching. Whole-brain analyses also identified associations between TNF-α and neural activity to angry and happy faces in regions outside of the amygdala. Psychophysiological interaction analysis indicated that higher TNF-α was associated with reduced bilateral amygdala connectivity to the left cuneus, right cuneus/calcarine fissure/precuneus, and left supramarginal gyrus/inferior parietal gyrus during angry and fearful faces > shapes and higher IL-6/CRP was associated with reduced bilateral amygdala connectivity to the right postcentral gyrus and right precuneus. Results suggest that peripheral inflammation is associated with increased amygdala activity to emotional face stimuli and reduced amygdala connectivity with occipital and parietal regions. These findings enhance our understanding of the association between peripheral inflammation and neural response to emotional faces, which could inform the development of interventions targeting inflammation for adolescents.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Johnna R Swartz
- Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA, United States.
| | - Angelica F Carranza
- Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Annchen R Knodt
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Michael R Irwin
- Norman Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Camelia E Hostinar
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Yuan JP, Ho TC, Coury SM, Chahal R, Colich NL, Gotlib IH. Early life stress, systemic inflammation, and neural correlates of implicit emotion regulation in adolescents. Brain Behav Immun 2022; 105:169-179. [PMID: 35842188 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2022] [Revised: 07/05/2022] [Accepted: 07/09/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Exposure to early life stress (ELS) increases the risk for developing psychopathology; however, the mechanisms underlying this association are not clear. In this study we examined systemic inflammation as a pathway that may link exposure to stress to altered neural correlates of implicit emotion regulation in adolescents with varying levels of exposure to ELS (n = 83; 52 females, 31 males; 15.63 ± 1.10 years). We measured ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) activation and functional connectivity (FC) between the bilateral amygdala and the vlPFC as adolescents completed an affect labeling task in the scanner and assessed concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP) using a dried blood spot protocol. We found that CRP levels were negatively associated with vlPFC activation during implicit regulation of negatively-valenced stimuli, and that cumulative severity of ELS exposure moderated this neuroimmune association. Severity of ELS also significantly moderated the association between CRP levels and FC between the bilateral amygdala and l-vlPFC during implicit emotion regulation: in adolescents who had been exposed to more severe ELS, higher CRP was associated with more negative frontoamygdala FC during implicit regulation of negatively-valenced stimuli. Thus, ELS may disrupt the normative association between the immune system and the neural processes that underlie socioemotional functioning potentially increasing adolescents' risk for maladaptive outcomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Justin P Yuan
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, United States.
| | - Tiffany C Ho
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, United States
| | - Saché M Coury
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, United States
| | - Rajpreet Chahal
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, United States
| | - Natalie L Colich
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, United States; Department of Psychology, Harvard University, United States
| | - Ian H Gotlib
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, United States
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Mudra Rakshasa-Loots A, Whalley HC, Vera JH, Cox SR. Neuroinflammation in HIV-associated depression: evidence and future perspectives. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:3619-3632. [PMID: 35618889 PMCID: PMC9708589 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01619-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/10/2022] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
People living with HIV face a high risk of mental illness, especially depression. We do not yet know the precise neurobiological mechanisms underlying HIV-associated depression. Depression severity in the general population has been linked to acute and chronic markers of systemic inflammation. Given the associations between depression and peripheral inflammation, and since HIV infection in the brain elicits a neuroinflammatory response, it is possible that neuroinflammation contributes to the high prevalence of depression amongst people living with HIV. The purpose of this review was to synthesise existing evidence for associations between inflammation, depression, and HIV. While there is strong evidence for independent associations between these three conditions, few preclinical or clinical studies have attempted to characterise their interrelationship, representing a major gap in the literature. This review identifies key areas of debate in the field and offers perspectives for future investigations of the pathophysiology of HIV-associated depression. Reproducing findings across diverse populations will be crucial in obtaining robust and generalisable results to elucidate the precise role of neuroinflammation in this pathophysiology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Arish Mudra Rakshasa-Loots
- Edinburgh Neuroscience, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
- Lothian Birth Cohorts Group, Department of Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
| | - Heather C Whalley
- Division of Psychiatry, Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, Royal Edinburgh Hospital, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Jaime H Vera
- Department of Global Health and Infection, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
| | - Simon R Cox
- Lothian Birth Cohorts Group, Department of Psychology, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Boukezzi S, Costi S, Shin LM, Kim-Schulze S, Cathomas F, Collins A, Russo SJ, Morris LS, Murrough JW. Exaggerated amygdala response to threat and association with immune hyperactivity in depression. Brain Behav Immun 2022; 104:205-212. [PMID: 35636614 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2022.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/26/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Depression is characterized by altered neurobiological responses to threat and inflammation may be involved in the development and maintenance of symptoms. However, the mechanistic pathways underlying the relationship between the neural underpinnings of threat, inflammation and depressive symptoms remain unknown. METHODS Twenty participants with major depressive disorder (MDD) and 17 healthy controls (HCs) completed this study. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were collected and stimulated ex vivo with lipopolysaccharide (LPS). We then measured a broad array of secreted proteins and performed principal component analysis to compute an aggregated immune reactivity score. Subjects completed a well-validated emotional face processing task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Amygdala activation was measured during perception of threat for the main contrast of interest: fear > happy face. Participants completed the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Correlation analyses between amygdala activation, the aggregate immune score, and symptom were computed across groups. A mediation analysis was also performed across groups to further explore the relationship between these three variables. RESULTS In line with our hypotheses and with prior work, the MDD group showed greater amygdala activation in response to threat compared to the HC group [t35 = -2.038, p = 0.049]. Internal consistency of amygdala activation to threat was found to be moderate. Response to an ex vivo immune challenge was greater in MDD than HC based on the computed immune reactivity score (PC1; t35 = 2.674, p = 0.011). Amygdala activation was positively correlated with the immune score (r = 0.331, p = 0.045). Moreover, higher amygdala activation was associated with greater anxious arousal measured by the MASQ (r = 0.390, p = 0.017). Exploring the role of stress, we found that higher perceived stress was positively associated with both inflammatory response (r = 0.367, p = 0.026) and amygdala response to threat (r = 0.325, p = 0.050). Mediation analyses showed that perceived stress predicted anxious arousal, but neither inflammation nor amygdala activation fully accounted for the effect of perceived stress on anxious arousal. CONCLUSION These data highlight the potential importance of threat circuitry hyperactivation in MDD, consistent with prior reports. We found that higher levels of inflammatory biomarkers were associated with higher amygdala activation, which in turn was associated with anxious arousal. Future research utilizing larger sample sizes are needed to replicate these preliminary results.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Boukezzi
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sara Costi
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Lisa M Shin
- Department of Psychology, Tufts University, Medford, MA, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Seunghee Kim-Schulze
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Flurin Cathomas
- Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Abigail Collins
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Scott J Russo
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Laurel S Morris
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - James W Murrough
- Department of Psychiatry, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA; Nash Family Department of Neuroscience and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Nawijn L, Dinga R, Aghajani M, van Tol M, van der Wee NJA, Wunder A, Veltman DJ, Penninx BWHJ. Neural correlates of anxious distress in depression: A neuroimaging study of reactivity to emotional faces and resting-state functional connectivity. Depress Anxiety 2022; 39:573-585. [PMID: 35536093 PMCID: PMC9543619 DOI: 10.1002/da.23264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Comorbid anxiety disorders and anxious distress are highly prevalent in major depressive disorder (MDD). The presence of the DSM-5 anxious distress specifier (ADS) has been associated with worse treatment outcomes and chronic disease course. However, little is known about the neurobiological correlates of anxious distress in MDD. METHODS We probed the relation between the DSM-5 ADS and task-related reactivity to emotional faces, as well as resting-state functional connectivity patterns of intrinsic salience and basal ganglia networks in unmedicated MDD patients with (MDD/ADS+, N = 24) and without ADS (MDD/ADS-, N = 48) and healthy controls (HC, N = 59). Both categorical and dimensional measures of ADS were investigated. RESULTS MDD/ADS+ patients had higher left amygdala responses to emotional faces compared to MDD/ADS- patients (p = .015)-part of a larger striato-limbic cluster. MDD/ADS+ did not differ from MDD/ADS- or controls in resting-state functional connectivity of the salience or basal ganglia networks. CONCLUSIONS Current findings suggest that amygdala and striato-limbic hyperactivity to emotional faces may be a neurobiological hallmark specific to MDD with anxious distress, relative to MDD without anxious distress. This may provide preliminary indications of the underlying mechanisms of anxious distress in depression, and underline the importance to account for heterogeneity in depression research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Nawijn
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Location VUmcVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands,Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Location Academic Medical CenterUniversity of AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Richard Dinga
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Location VUmcVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands,Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and BehaviourRadboud UniversityNijmegenThe Netherlands
| | - Moji Aghajani
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Location VUmcVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands,Section Forensic Family & Youth Care, Institute of Education and Child StudiesLeiden UniversityLeidenThe Netherlands
| | - Marie‐José van Tol
- Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and SystemsUniversity Medical Center Groningen, Cognitive Neuroscience CenterGroningenThe Netherlands
| | | | - Andreas Wunder
- Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG, Translational Medicine and Clinical PharmacologyBiberach an der RissGermany
| | - Dick J. Veltman
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Location VUmcVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| | - Brenda W. H. J. Penninx
- Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam Neuroscience, Amsterdam UMC, Location VUmcVrije Universiteit AmsterdamAmsterdamThe Netherlands
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Bekhbat M, Ulukaya GB, Bhasin MK, Felger JC, Miller AH. Cellular and immunometabolic mechanisms of inflammation in depression: Preliminary findings from single cell RNA sequencing and a tribute to Bruce McEwen. Neurobiol Stress 2022; 19:100462. [PMID: 35655933 PMCID: PMC9152104 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2022.100462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2022] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/16/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Inflammation is associated with symptoms of anhedonia, a core feature of major depression (MD). We have shown that MD patients with high inflammation as measured by plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) and anhedonia display gene signatures of metabolic reprograming (e.g., shift to glycolysis) necessary to sustain cellular immune activation. To gain preliminary insight into the immune cell subsets and transcriptomic signatures that underlie increased inflammation and its relationship with behavior in MD at the single-cell (sc) level, herein we conducted scRNA-Seq on peripheral blood mononuclear cells from a subset of medically-stable, unmedicated MD outpatients. Three MD patients with high CRP (>3 mg/L) before and two weeks after anti-inflammatory challenge with the tumor necrosis factor antagonist infliximab and three patients with low CRP (≤3 mg/L) were studied. Cell clusters were identified using a Single Cell Wizard pipeline, followed by pathway analysis. CD14+ and CD16+ monocytes were more abundant in MD patients with high CRP and were reduced by 29% and 55% respectively after infliximab treatment. Within CD14+ and CD16+ monocytes, genes upregulated in high CRP patients were enriched for inflammatory (phagocytosis, complement, leukocyte migration) and immunometabolic (hypoxia-inducible factor [HIF]-1, aerobic glycolysis) pathways. Shifts in CD4+ T cell subsets included ∼30% and ∼10% lower abundance of CD4+ central memory (TCM) and naïve cells and ∼50% increase in effector memory-like (TEM-like) cells in high versus low CRP patients. TCM cells of high CRP patients displayed downregulation of the oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) pathway, a main energy source in this cell type. Following infliximab, changes in the number of CD14+ monocytes and CD4+ TEM-like cells predicted improvements in anhedonia scores (r = 1.0, p < 0.001). In sum, monocytes and CD4+ T cells from MD patients with increased inflammation exhibited immunometabolic reprograming in association with symptoms of anhedonia. These findings are the first step toward determining the cellular and molecular immune pathways associated with inflammatory phenotypes in MD, which may lead to novel immunomodulatory treatments of psychiatric illnesses with increased inflammation.
Collapse
|
28
|
Friend SF, Nachnani R, Powell SB, Risbrough VB. C-Reactive Protein: Marker of risk for post-traumatic stress disorder and its potential for a mechanistic role in trauma response and recovery. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 55:2297-2310. [PMID: 33131159 PMCID: PMC8087722 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Revised: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 10/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
Increasing evidence indicates that inflammation plays a role in PTSD and stress disorder pathophysiology. PTSD is consistently associated with higher circulating inflammatory protein levels. Rodent models demonstrate that inflammation promotes enduring avoidance and arousal behaviors after severe stressors (e.g., predator exposure and social defeat), suggesting that inflammation may play a mechanistic role in trauma disorders. C-reactive protein (CRP) is an innate acute phase reactant produced by the liver after acute infection and chronic disease. A growing number of investigations report associations with PTSD diagnosis and elevated peripheral CRP, CRP gene mutations, and CRP gene expression changes in immune signaling pathways. CRP is reasonably established as a potential marker of PTSD and trauma exposure, but if and how it may play a mechanistic role is unclear. In this review, we discuss the current understanding of immune mechanisms in PTSD with a particular focus on the innate immune signaling factor, CRP. We found that although there is consistent evidence of an association of CRP with PTSD symptoms and risk, there is a paucity of data on how CRP might contribute to CNS inflammation in PTSD, and consequently, PTSD symptoms. We discuss potential mechanisms through which CRP could modulate enduring peripheral and CNS stress responses, along with future areas of investigation probing the role of CRP and other innate immune signaling factors in modulating trauma responses. Overall, we found that CRP likely contributes to central inflammation, but how it does so is an area for further study.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Samantha F. Friend
- Veterans Affairs Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental HealthSan DiegoCAUSA,Department of PsychiatryUniversity of California San DiegoSan DiegoCAUSA
| | - Rahul Nachnani
- Department of PharmacologyPenn State College of MedicineHersheyPAUSA
| | - Susan B. Powell
- Department of PsychiatryUniversity of California San DiegoSan DiegoCAUSA,Research ServiceVA San Diego Healthcare SystemSan DiegoCAUSA
| | - Victoria B. Risbrough
- Veterans Affairs Center of Excellence for Stress and Mental HealthSan DiegoCAUSA,Department of PsychiatryUniversity of California San DiegoSan DiegoCAUSA
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Beckmann FE, Seidenbecher S, Metzger CD, Gescher DM, Carballedo A, Tozzi L, O'Keane V, Frodl T. C-reactive protein is related to a distinct set of alterations in resting-state functional connectivity contributing to a differential pathophysiology of major depressive disorder. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 2022; 321:111440. [PMID: 35131572 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2022.111440] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2021] [Revised: 12/10/2021] [Accepted: 01/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Several studies in major depressive disorder (MDD) have found inflammation, especially C-reactive protein (CRP), to be consistently associated with MDD and network dysfunction. The aim was to investigate whether CRP is linked to a distinct set of resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) alterations. METHODS For this reason, we investigated the effects of diagnosis and elevated blood plasma CRP levels on the RSFC in 63 participants (40 females, mean age 31.4 years) of which were 27 patients with a primary diagnosis of MDD and 36 healthy control-subjects (HC), utilizing a seed-based approach within five well-established RSFC networks obtained using fMRI. RESULTS Of the ten network pairs examined, five showed increased between-network RSFC-values unambiguously connected either to a diagnosis of MDD or elevated CRP levels. For elevated CRP levels, increased RSFC between DMN and AN was found. Patients showed increased RSFC within DMN areas and between the DMN and ECN and VAN, ECN and AN and AN and DAN. CONCLUSIONS The results of this study show dysregulated neural circuits specifically connected to elevated plasma CRP levels and independent of other alterations of RSFC in MDD. This dysfunction in neural circuits might in turn result in a certain immune-inflammatory subtype of MDD.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Fienne-Elisa Beckmann
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Stephanie Seidenbecher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Coraline D Metzger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Dorothee M Gescher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen, Germany
| | - Angela Carballedo
- Department of Psychiatry and Trinity Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
| | - Leonardo Tozzi
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Trinity Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; Department of Psychiatry, University of Stanford, USA
| | - Veronica O'Keane
- Department of Psychiatry and Trinity Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
| | - Thomas Frodl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Trinity Institute of Neuroscience, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; Department of Psychiatry, University of Stanford, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital Aachen, RWTH Aachen, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
30
|
Association between resting-state functional connectivity of amygdala subregions and peripheral pro-inflammation cytokines levels in bipolar disorder. Brain Imaging Behav 2022; 16:1614-1626. [PMID: 35175549 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-022-00636-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
The pathophysiological mechanisms of bipolar disorder (BD) are not completely known, and systemic inflammation and immune dysregulation are considered as risk factors. Previous neuroimaging studies have proved metabolic, structural and functional abnormalities of the amygdala in BD, suggesting the vital role of amygdala in BD patients. This study aimed to test the underlying neural mechanism of inflammation-induced functional connectivity (FC) in the amygdala subregions of BD patients. Resting-state functional MRI (rs-fMRI) was used to delineate the amygdala FC from two pairs of amygdala seed regions (the bilateral lateral and medial amygdala) in 51 unmedicated BD patients and 69 healthy controls (HCs). The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6 and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were measured in the serum. The correlation between abnormal levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and FC values were calculated in BD patients. The BD group exhibited decreased FC between the right medial amygdala and bilateral medial frontal cortex (MFC), and decreased FC between the left medial amygdala and the left temporal pole (TP), right orbital inferior frontal gyrus compared with HCs. The BD patients had higher levels of TNF-α than HCs. Correlation analysis showed negative correlation between the TNF-α level and abnormal FC of the right medial amygdala-bilateral MFC; and negative correlation between TNF-α levels and abnormal FC of the left medial amygdala-left TP in BD group. These findings suggest that dysfunctional and immune dysregulation between the amygdala and the frontotemporal circuitry might play a critical role in the pathogenesis of BD.
Collapse
|
31
|
Yu H, Tang MH, Zeng ZY, Huang SJ, Zheng XF, Liu ZY. Suppressive Effects of Gelsemine on Anxiety-like Behaviors Induced by Chronic Unpredictable Mild Stress in Mice. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12020191. [PMID: 35203954 PMCID: PMC8870043 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12020191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Gelsemine is an active principle and a major alkaloid found in Gelsemium genus of plants belonging to the Loganiaceae family. The aim of the present study was to explore whether gelsemine exerts anxiolytic effects on a mouse model of chronic-unpredictable-mild-stress (CUMS)-induced anxiety-like behaviors. NOD-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) inflammasome, downregulated cAMP-response element-binding protein (CREB) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) were also evaluated as potential mechanisms. First, gelsemine reversed a CUMS-induced decrease in body-weight gain in mice. Next, gelsemine alleviated CUMS-induced anxiety-like behaviors, as evidenced by the increased distance traveled in the central zone of the open-field test, both the increased percentage of time spent and distance traveled in the light compartment, the increased number of transitions between compartments in the light/dark-transition test, and the increased percentage of entries and time spent in the open arm of the elevated plus-maze. In addition, gelsemine decreased the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin (IL)-1β and IL-6, in the hypothalamus and hippocampus of CUMS mice. Interestingly, further investigations revealed that gelsemine inhibited the CUMS-induced activation of NLRP3-inflammasome pathways and downregulated CREB and BDNF overexpression in the hypothalamus. In summary, gelsemine alleviated anxiety-like behaviors in the CUMS-induced mouse model. Gelsemine exerted its anxiolytic effects by modulating the NLRP3 and CREB/BDNF pathways.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hui Yu
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; (H.Y.); (M.-H.T.); (Z.-Y.Z.); (S.-J.H.); (X.-F.Z.)
- Hunan Engineering Technology Research Center of Veterinary Drugs, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
| | - Mo-Huan Tang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; (H.Y.); (M.-H.T.); (Z.-Y.Z.); (S.-J.H.); (X.-F.Z.)
- Hunan Engineering Technology Research Center of Veterinary Drugs, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
| | - Zi-Yue Zeng
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; (H.Y.); (M.-H.T.); (Z.-Y.Z.); (S.-J.H.); (X.-F.Z.)
- Hunan Engineering Technology Research Center of Veterinary Drugs, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
| | - Si-Juan Huang
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; (H.Y.); (M.-H.T.); (Z.-Y.Z.); (S.-J.H.); (X.-F.Z.)
- Hunan Engineering Technology Research Center of Veterinary Drugs, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
| | - Xiao-Feng Zheng
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; (H.Y.); (M.-H.T.); (Z.-Y.Z.); (S.-J.H.); (X.-F.Z.)
| | - Zhao-Ying Liu
- College of Veterinary Medicine, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China; (H.Y.); (M.-H.T.); (Z.-Y.Z.); (S.-J.H.); (X.-F.Z.)
- Hunan Engineering Technology Research Center of Veterinary Drugs, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Tateishi H, Mizoguchi Y, Monji A. Is the Therapeutic Mechanism of Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation in Cognitive Dysfunctions of Depression Related to the Neuroinflammatory Processes in Depression? Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:834425. [PMID: 35280153 PMCID: PMC8907472 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.834425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/28/2022] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The lifetime prevalence of depression is reported to be >10%, and it is an important illness that causes various disabilities over a long period of life. Neuroinflammation process is often reported to be closely linked to the pathophysiology of depression. Approximately one-third of depression is known to be treatment-resistant depression (TRD), in which the symptoms are refractory to adequate treatment. Cognitive dysfunction is one of the most important symptoms of depression that impedes the rehabilitation of patients with depression. Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is a minimally invasive and effective treatment for TRD and is also known to be effective in cognitive dysfunction in depression. Since the details of the therapeutic mechanism of rTMS are still unknown, we have been conducting studies to clarify the therapeutic mechanism of rTMS, especially focusing on cognitive dysfunction in depression. In the present review, we present our latest results and discuss them from the standpoint of the neuroinflammation hypothesis of depression, while citing relevant literature.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Hiroshi Tateishi
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga, Japan
| | - Yoshito Mizoguchi
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga, Japan
| | - Akira Monji
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Saga University, Saga, Japan
| |
Collapse
|
33
|
Abstract
ABSTRACT Inflammatory phenomena are found in many psychiatric disorders-notably, depression, schizophrenia, and posttraumatic stress disorder. Inflammation has been linked to severity and treatment resistance, and may both contribute to, and result from, the pathophysiology of some psychiatric illnesses. Emerging research suggests that inflammation may contribute to symptom domains of reward, motor processing, and threat reactivity across different psychiatric diagnoses. Reward-processing deficits contribute to motivational impairments in depression and schizophrenia, and motor-processing deficits contribute to psychomotor slowing in both depression and schizophrenia. A number of experimental models and clinical trials suggest that inflammation produces deficits in reward and motor processing through common pathways connecting the cortex and the striatum, which includes the nucleus accumbens, caudate nucleus, and putamen.The observed effects of inflammation on psychiatric disorders may cut across traditional conceptualizations of psychiatric diagnoses. Further study may lead to targeted immunomodulating treatments that address difficult-to-treat symptoms in a number of psychiatric disorders. In this review, we use a Research Domain Criteria framework to discuss proposed mechanisms for inflammation and its effects on the domains of reward processing, psychomotor slowing, and threat reactivity. We also discuss data that support contributing roles of metabolic dysregulation and sex differences on the behavioral outcomes of inflammation. Finally, we discuss ways that future studies can help disentangle this complex topic to yield fruitful results that will help advance the field of psychoneuroimmunology.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David S Thylur
- From the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Emory University
| | | |
Collapse
|
34
|
McFarland DC, Riba M, Grassi L. Clinical Implications of Cancer Related Inflammation and Depression: A Critical Review. Clin Pract Epidemiol Ment Health 2021; 17:287-294. [PMID: 35444703 PMCID: PMC8985467 DOI: 10.2174/1745017902117010287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2021] [Revised: 09/07/2021] [Accepted: 10/01/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
Background: Neuropsychiatric symptoms are problematic in cancer settings. In addition to poor quality of life, depression is associated with worsened survival. Patients who develop depression that responds to treatment have the same cancer-related survival as those patients who never had depression. Although depression in patients with cancer is common, it is often unrecognized, untreated, or at best, undertreated. There remains untapped potential for underlying cancer-related biology associated with depression to help clinicians correctly identify depressed cancer patients and orchestrate appropriate treatments to address cancer-related depression. Biologically, inflammation has been most vigorously described in its association with depression in otherwise healthy patients and to a significant extent in patients with medical illness. This association is especially relevant to patients with cancer since so many aspects of cancer induce inflammation. In addition to cancer itself, its treatments (e.g., surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and systemic therapies) and associated factors (e.g., smoking, obesity, aging) are all associated with increased inflammation that can drive immunological changes in the brain followed by depression. This critical review investigates the relationship between depression and cancer-related inflammation. It investigates several hypotheses that support these relationships in cancer patients. Special attention is given to the data that support certain inflammatory markers specific to both cancer and depression, the neurobiological mechanisms by which inflammation can impact neurotransmitters and neurocircuits in the brain, and the data addressing interventions that reduce inflammation and depression in cancer patients, and future directions.
Collapse
|
35
|
Fu CH, Chen HC, Huang CC, Chang PH, Lee TJ. Serum High-Sensitivity C-Reactive Protein Is Associated with Postoperative Psychiatric Status in Patients with Empty Nose Syndrome. Diagnostics (Basel) 2021; 11:diagnostics11122388. [PMID: 34943627 PMCID: PMC8700485 DOI: 10.3390/diagnostics11122388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2021] [Revised: 12/05/2021] [Accepted: 12/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Many patients diagnosed with empty nose syndrome (ENS) later develop mental illness. The literature addressing biomarkers associated with postoperative psychiatric status is limited. This study aimed to assess the association between high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and psychiatric status after surgery in ENS. We recruited patients with ENS undergoing endonasal submucosal implantation. Their pre- and postoperative psychiatric status was evaluated using the Beck depression inventory-II (BDI-II) and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Serum hs-CRP was analyzed one day before and one year after surgery. Of the 43 patients enrolled, all subjective measurements had improved (symptom scores decreased) significantly by the third month postoperatively and remained plateaued till 12 months. Those with preoperative hs-CRP levels > 2.02 mg/L were likely to remain depressive 1 year postoperatively. The regression model showed that a preoperative hs-CRP level > 2.02 mg/L was significantly correlated with postoperative depression in patients with ENS (odds ratio, 19.9). Hs-CRP level seems to be a feasible predictor of surgical outcome regarding improved depression in patients with ENS. Patients with higher preoperative hs-CRP levels should be monitored closely after surgery.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chia-Hsiang Fu
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 333604, Taiwan; (C.-H.F.); (H.-C.C.); (C.-C.H.); (P.-H.C.)
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333604, Taiwan
| | - Hung-Chin Chen
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 333604, Taiwan; (C.-H.F.); (H.-C.C.); (C.-C.H.); (P.-H.C.)
| | - Chi-Che Huang
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 333604, Taiwan; (C.-H.F.); (H.-C.C.); (C.-C.H.); (P.-H.C.)
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333604, Taiwan
| | - Po-Hung Chang
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 333604, Taiwan; (C.-H.F.); (H.-C.C.); (C.-C.H.); (P.-H.C.)
- Graduate Institute of Clinical Medical Sciences, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan 333604, Taiwan
| | - Ta-Jen Lee
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan 333604, Taiwan; (C.-H.F.); (H.-C.C.); (C.-C.H.); (P.-H.C.)
- Department of Otolaryngology—Head and Neck Surgery, Xiamen Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Xiamen 361000, China
- Correspondence:
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Chronic Administration of 7,8-DHF Lessens the Depression-like Behavior of Juvenile Mild Traumatic Brain Injury Treated Rats at Their Adult Age. Pharmaceutics 2021; 13:pharmaceutics13122169. [PMID: 34959450 PMCID: PMC8704538 DOI: 10.3390/pharmaceutics13122169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2021] [Revised: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity among the global youth and commonly results in long-lasting sequelae, including paralysis, epilepsy, and a host of mental disorders such as major depressive disorder. Previous studies were mainly focused on severe TBI as it occurs in adults. This study explored the long-term adverse effect of mild TBI in juvenile animals (mTBI-J). Male Sprague Dawley rats received mTBI-J or sham treatment at six weeks old, then underwent behavioral, biochemical, and histological experiments three weeks later (at nine weeks old). TTC staining, H&E staining, and brain edema measurement were applied to evaluate the mTBI-J induced cerebral damage. The forced swimming test (FST) and sucrose preference test (SPT) were applied for measuring depression-like behavior. The locomotor activity test (LAT) was performed to examine mTBI-J treatment effects on motor function. After the behavioral experiments, the dorsal hippocampus (dHip) and ventral hippocampus (vHip) were dissected out for western blotting to examine the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB). Finally, a TrkB agonist 7,8-DHF was injected intraperitoneally to evaluate its therapeutic effect on the mTBI-J induced behavioral abnormalities at the early adult age. Results showed that a mild brain edema occurred, but no significant neural damage was found in the mTBI-J treated animals. In addition, a significant increase of depression-like behaviors was observed in the mTBI-J treated animals; the FST revealed an increase in immobility, and a decrease in sucrose consumption was found in the mTBI-J treated animals. There were no differences observed in the total distance traveled of the LAT and the fall latency of the rotarod test. The hippocampal BDNF expression, but not the TrkB, were significantly reduced in mTBI-J, and the mTBI-J treatment-induced depression-like behavior was lessened after four weeks of 7,8-DHF administration. Collectively, these results indicate that even a mild juvenile TBI treatment that did not produce motor deficits or significant histological damage could have a long-term adverse effect that could be sustained to adulthood, which raises the depression-like behavior in the adult age. In addition, chronic administration of 7,8-DHF lessens the mTBI-J treatment-induced depression-like behaviors in adult rats. We suggest the potential usage of 7,8-DHF as a therapeutic agent for preventing the long-term adverse effect of mTBI-J.
Collapse
|
37
|
Ghosh S, Mohammed Z, Singh I. Bruton's tyrosine kinase drives neuroinflammation and anxiogenic behavior in mouse models of stress. J Neuroinflammation 2021; 18:289. [PMID: 34895246 PMCID: PMC8665324 DOI: 10.1186/s12974-021-02322-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Current therapies targeting several neurotransmitter systems are only able to partially mitigate the symptoms of stress- and trauma-related disorder. Stress and trauma-related disorders lead to a prominent inflammatory response in humans, and in pre-clinical models. However, mechanisms underlying the induction of neuroinflammatory response in PTSD and anxiety disorders are not clearly understood. The present study investigated the mechanism underlying the activation of proinflammatory NLRP3 inflammasome and IL1β in mouse models of stress. METHODS We used two mouse models of stress, i.e., mice subjected to physical restraint stress with brief underwater submersion, and predator odor stress. Mice were injected with MCC950, a small molecule specific inhibitor of NLRP3 activation. To pharmacologically inhibit BTK, a specific inhibitor ibrutinib was used. To validate the observation from ibrutinib studies, a separate group of mice was injected with another BTK-specific inhibitor LFM-A13. Seven days after the induction of stress, mice were examined for anxious behavior using open field test (OFT), light-dark test (LDT), and elevated plus maze test (EPM). Following the behavior tests, hippocampus and amygdale were extracted and analyzed for various components of NLRP3-caspase 1-IL1β pathway. Plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were also used to assess the induction of NLRP3-Caspase 1-IL-1β pathway in stressed mice. RESULTS Using two different pre-clinical models of stress, we demonstrate heightened anxious behavior in female mice as compared to their male counterparts. Stressed animals exhibited upregulation of proinflammatory IL1β, IL-6, Caspase 1 activity and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in brain, which were significantly higher in female mice. Pharmacological inhibition of NLRP3 inflammasome activation led to anxiolysis as well as attenuated neuroinflammatory response. Further, we observed induction of activated Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK), an upstream positive-regulator of NLRP3 inflammasome activation, in hippocampus and amygdala of stressed mice. Next, we conducted proof-of-concept pharmacological BTK inhibitor studies with ibrutinib and LFM-A13. In both sets of experiments, we found BTK inhibition led to anxiolysis and attenuated neuroinflammation, as indicated by significant reduction of NLRP3 inflammasome and proinflammatory IL-1β in hippocampus and amygdala. Analysis of plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells indicated peripheral induction of NLRP3-caspase 1-IL1β pathway in stressed mice. CONCLUSION Our study identified BTK as a key upstream regulator of neuroinflammation, which drives anxiogenic behavior in mouse model of stress. Further, we demonstrated the sexually divergent activation of BTK, providing a clue to heightened neuroinflammation and anxiogenic response to stress in females as compared to their male counterparts. Our data from the pharmacological inhibition studies suggest BTK as a novel target for the development of potential clinical treatment of PTSD and anxiety disorders. Induction of pBTK and NLRP3 in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of stressed mice suggest the potential effect of stress on systemic inflammation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Simantini Ghosh
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA.
- Department of Psychology, Ashoka University, Rai, India.
| | | | - Itender Singh
- Department of Neurosurgery, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, USA
- Ambedkar Center for Biomedical Research, Delhi University, New Delhi, India
| |
Collapse
|
38
|
Rengasamy M, Marsland A, Spada M, Hsiung K, Kovats T, Price RB. A chicken and egg scenario in psychoneuroimmunology: Bidirectional mechanisms linking cytokines and depression. JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS REPORTS 2021; 6. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jadr.2021.100177] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
|
39
|
Dysconnectivity of a brain functional network was associated with blood inflammatory markers in depression. Brain Behav Immun 2021; 98:299-309. [PMID: 34450247 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2021.08.226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 08/09/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE There is increasing evidence for a subgroup of major depressive disorder (MDD) associated with heightened peripheral blood inflammatory markers. In this study, we aimed to understand the mechanistic brain-immune axis in inflammation-linked depression by investigating associations between functional connectivity (FC) of brain networks and peripheral blood immune markers in depression. METHODS Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and peripheral blood inflammatory markers (C-reactive protein; CRP, interleukin-6; IL-6 and immune cells) were collected on N = 46 healthy controls (HC; CRP ≤ 3 mg/L) and N = 83 cases of depression, stratified further into low CRP cases (loCRP cases; ≤ 3 mg/L; N = 50) and high CRP cases (hiCRP cases; > 3 mg/L; N = 33). In a two-part analysis, network-based statistics (NBS) was firstly used to ascertain whole-brain FC differences in HC vs hiCRP cases. Secondly, we investigated the association between this network of interconnected brain regions and continuous measures of peripheral CRP (N = 83), IL-6 (N = 72), neutrophils and CD4+ T-cells (N = 36) in depression cases only. RESULTS Case-control NBS testing revealed a single network of abnormally attenuated FC in the high CRP depression cases compared to healthy controls. Connections within this network were mainly between brain regions located in the left insula/frontal operculum and posterior cingulate cortex, which were assigned to ventral attention and default mode canonical fMRI networks respectively. Within-group analysis across all depression cases, secondarily demonstrated that FC within the identified network significantly negatively scaled with CRP, IL-6 and neutrophils. CONCLUSIONS The findings suggest that inflammation is associated with disruption of functional connectivity within a brain network deemed critical for interoceptive signalling, e.g. accurate communication of peripheral bodily signals such as immune states to the brain, with implications for the pathogenesis of inflammation-linked depression.
Collapse
|
40
|
Han KM, Ham BJ. How Inflammation Affects the Brain in Depression: A Review of Functional and Structural MRI Studies. J Clin Neurol 2021; 17:503-515. [PMID: 34595858 PMCID: PMC8490908 DOI: 10.3988/jcn.2021.17.4.503] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/06/2021] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/30/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
This narrative review discusses how peripheral and central inflammation processes affect brain function and structure in depression, and reports on recent peripheral inflammatory marker-based functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies from the perspective of neural-circuit dysfunction in depression. Chronic stress stimulates the activity of microglial cells, which increases the production of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the brain. In addition, microglial activation promotes a shift from the synthesis of serotonin to the synthesis of neurotoxic metabolites of the kynurenine pathway, which induces glutamate-mediated excitotoxicity in neurons. Furthermore, the region specificity of microglial activation is hypothesized to contribute to the vulnerability of specific brain regions in the depression-related neural circuits to inflammation-mediated brain injury. MRI studies are increasingly investigating how the blood levels of inflammatory markers such as C-reactive protein, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor-α are associated with functional and structural neuroimaging markers in depression. Functional MRI studies have found that peripheral inflammatory markers are associated with aberrant activation patterns and altered functional connectivity in neural circuits involved in emotion regulation, reward processing, and cognitive control in depression. Structural MRI studies have suggested that peripheral inflammatory markers are related to reduced cortical gray matter and subcortical volumes, cortical thinning, and decreased integrity of white matter tracts within depression-related neural circuits. These neuroimaging findings may improve our understanding of the relationships between neuroinflammatory processes at the molecular level and macroscale in vivo neuralcircuit dysfunction in depression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kyu Man Han
- Department of Psychiatry, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
| | - Byung Joo Ham
- Department of Psychiatry, Korea University Anam Hospital, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Gidron Y, Levy E, Farchi M, Rapaport C. Effects of an automatized psychological inoculation (PI) intervention on anxiety, resilience and adherence to COVID-19 recommendations. Psychol Health 2021; 38:541-554. [PMID: 34595960 DOI: 10.1080/08870446.2021.1984485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES The covid-19 pandemic calls for adherence to multiple health behaviours. While authorities mostly use health information to deal with these issues, such an approach may be insufficient. This study examined the effects of a cognitive method, namely psychological inoculation (PI) + health information (experimental) versus health information alone (control) on anxiety, resilience and adherence. DESIGN A randomized controlled trial was used. Participants were assigned to the experimental or control conditions, all provided on an automatized computerized system. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES These included anxiety, adherence to the Covid-19 Israeli health ministry's recommendations, and mental resilience. Participants were assessed before, immediately after and a week after the interventions. RESULTS Controls increased only in adherence at 1 week compared to baseline. In contrast, those in the PI increased in resilience and adherence and reported lower anxiety immediately after treatment compared to baseline levels. In the PI condition, degree of refuting challenging sentences correlated with less anxiety. CONCLUSIONS Results showed better immediate improvements in anxiety, resilience and intention to adhere in the experimental condition compare to the controls. Authorities may wish to add PI to help the public deal with the effects of such a pandemic and to increase adherence to health recommendations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yori Gidron
- Department of Nursing, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel
| | - Einav Levy
- Department of Social Work, Tel-Hai College, Qiryat Shemona, Israel.,The Israeli School of Humanitarian Action, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Moshe Farchi
- Department of Social Work, Tel-Hai College, Qiryat Shemona, Israel
| | - Carmit Rapaport
- Department of Nursing, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel.,Department of Geography, Haifa University, Haifa, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Experience of symptom control, anxiety and associating factors in a palliative care unit evaluated with Support Team Assessment Schedule Japanese version. Sci Rep 2021; 11:19321. [PMID: 34588477 PMCID: PMC8481243 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-97143-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Various physical and psychosocial difficulties including anxiety affect cancer patients. Patient surroundings also have psychological effects on caregiving. Assessing the current status of palliative care intervention, specifically examining anxiety and its associated factors, is important to improve palliative care unit (PCU) patient quality of life (QOL). This study retrospectively assessed 199 patients admitted to a PCU during August 2018–June 2019. Data for symptom control, anxiety level, disease insight, and communication level obtained using Support Team Assessment Schedule Japanese version (STAS-J) were evaluated on admission and after 2 weeks. Palliative Prognostic Index (PPI) and laboratory data were collected at admission. Patient anxiety was significantly severer and more frequent in groups with severer functional impairment (p = 0.003) and those requiring symptom control (p = 0.006). Nevertheless, no relation was found between dyspnea and anxiety (p = 0.135). Patients with edema more frequently experienced anxiety (p = 0.068). Patient survival was significantly shorter when family anxiety was higher after 2 weeks (p = 0.021). Symptoms, edema, and disabilities in daily living correlate with patient anxiety. Dyspnea is associated with anxiety, but its emergence might be attributable mainly to physical factors in this population. Family members might sensitize changes reflecting worsened general conditions earlier than the patients.
Collapse
|
43
|
Xu Y, Zhang X, Xiang Z, Wang Q, Huang X, Liu T, Yang Z, Chen Y, Xue J, Chen J, Yang J. Abnormal Functional Connectivity Between the Left Medial Superior Frontal Gyrus and Amygdala Underlying Abnormal Emotion and Premature Ejaculation: A Resting State fMRI Study. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:704920. [PMID: 34421524 PMCID: PMC8375680 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.704920] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Premature ejaculation (PE) is a common sexual dysfunction and is found to be associated with abnormal emotion. The amygdala plays an important role in the processing of emotion. The process of ejaculation is found to be mediated by the frontal-limbic neural circuits. However, the correlations between PE and emotion are still unclear. Methods Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) data were acquired in 27 PE patients with stable emotion (SPE), 27 PE patients with abnormal emotion (NPE), and 30 healthy controls (HC). We used rs-fMRI to explore the underlying neural mechanisms in SPE, NPE, and HC by measuring the functional connectivity (FC). Differences of FC values among the three groups were compared when choosing bilateral amygdala as the regions of interest (ROIs). We also explored the correlations between the brain regions showing altered FC values and scores of the premature ejaculation diagnostic tool (PEDT)/Eysenck Personality Inventory about neuroticism (EPQ-N) in the PE group. Results When the left amygdala was chosen as the ROI, the SPE group exhibited an increased FC between the left medial superior frontal gyrus (SFGmed) and amygdala compared with the NPE or HC group. When the right amygdala was chosen as the ROI, the NPE group exhibited a decreased FC between the left SFGmed and right amygdala compared with the HC group. In addition, FC values of the left SFGmed had positive correlations with PEDT and negative correlations with EPQ-N scores in the PE group. Moreover, FC values of the left superior temporal gyrus had positive correlations with EPQ-N scores in the PE group. Conclusion The increased FC values between the left SFGmed and amygdala could reflect a compensatory cortical control mechanism with the effect of stabilized emotion in the limbic regions of PE patients. Abnormal FC between these brain regions could play a critical role in the physiopathology of PE and could help us in dividing PE into more subtypes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yan Xu
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Xing Zhang
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China.,Department of Andrology, Yangzhou Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, Affiliated to Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Ziliang Xiang
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Qing Wang
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Xinfei Huang
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Tao Liu
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Zhaoxu Yang
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Yun Chen
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Jianguo Xue
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Jianhuai Chen
- Department of Andrology, Jiangsu Province Hospital of Chinese Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Nanjing, China
| | - Jie Yang
- Department of Urology, Jiangsu Provincial People's Hospital, First Affiliated Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, China.,Department of Urology, People's Hospital of Xinjiang Kizilsu Kirgiz Autonomous Prefecture, Ürümqi, China
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Alvarez GM, Hackman DA, Miller AB, Muscatell KA. Systemic inflammation is associated with differential neural reactivity and connectivity to affective images. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 15:1024-1033. [PMID: 32441308 PMCID: PMC7657451 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa065] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2019] [Revised: 04/21/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Systemic inflammation is increasingly appreciated as a predictor of health and well-being. Further, inflammation has been shown to influence and be influenced by affective experiences. Although prior work has substantiated associations between inflammatory and affective processes, fewer studies have investigated the neurobiological correlates that underlie links between systemic, low-grade inflammation and affective reactivity. Thus, the current study examined whether markers of systemic inflammation (i.e. interleukin-6, C-reactive protein) are associated with differential patterns of neural activation and connectivity in corticolimbic regions in response to affective images. We investigated this question in a sample of 66 adults (44 women, M age = 54.98 years, range = 35–76) from the Midlife in the United States study. Higher levels of inflammation were associated with lower activity in limbic regions (i.e. amygdala, hippocampus, anterior insula, temporal pole) when viewing positive (vs neutral) images. Higher levels of inflammation were also associated with greater connectivity between the hippocampus and the medial prefrontal cortex in response to positive images. Inflammatory markers were not associated with significant differences in activation or connectivity to negative images. These findings highlight the utility of health neuroscience approaches in demonstrating that physiological processes such as inflammation are related to how our brains respond to affective information.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gabriella M Alvarez
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3270, USA
| | - Daniel A Hackman
- USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Adam Bryant Miller
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3270, USA
| | - Keely A Muscatell
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3270, USA.,Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Swartz JR, Carranza AF, Tully LM, Knodt AR, Jiang J, Irwin MR, Hostinar CE. Associations between peripheral inflammation and resting state functional connectivity in adolescents. Brain Behav Immun 2021; 95:96-105. [PMID: 33631285 PMCID: PMC8241234 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2021.02.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2020] [Revised: 02/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Relatively little is known about associations between peripheral inflammation and neural function in humans. Neuroimaging studies in adults have suggested that elevated peripheral inflammatory markers are associated with altered resting state functional connectivity (rsFC) in several brain networks associated with mood and cognition. Few studies have examined these associations in adolescents, yet scarce data from adolescents point to different networks than adult studies. The current study examined the associations between peripheral inflammation and rsFC in a community sample of adolescents (n = 70; age, 12-15 years; 32 female, 36 male, 2 nonbinary). After blood sampling, an fMRI scan was performed to assess rsFC. Assay for serum inflammatory markers, including interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP), was performed. Results indicated that higher TNF-α was associated with altered rsFC between the right amygdala and left striatum and between the right inferior frontal gyrus and left parietal cortex (p < 0.05 whole-brain corrected). Associations with IL-6 and CRP were not significant. In contrast with findings in adults, inflammation may have unique links with the connectivity of the developing adolescent brain. Results have implications for understanding how peripheral inflammation may influence connectivity during adolescence, when neural networks are undergoing major developmental changes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Johnna R Swartz
- Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA, United States.
| | - Angelica F Carranza
- Department of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Laura M Tully
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| | - Annchen R Knodt
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Duke University, Durham, NC, United States
| | - Janina Jiang
- Norman Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Michael R Irwin
- Norman Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States; Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Camelia E Hostinar
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Davis, CA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Uzunova G, Pallanti S, Hollander E. Presentation and management of anxiety in individuals with acute symptomatic or asymptomatic COVID-19 infection, and in the post-COVID-19 recovery phase. Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract 2021; 25:115-131. [PMID: 33635172 DOI: 10.1080/13651501.2021.1887264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
COVID-19 is associated with neuropsychiatric complications, the most frequent one being anxiety. Multiple biological and psychosocial factors contribute to anxiety in COVID-19. Among the biological factors, stress, genetics, gender, immune system, resilience, anosmia, hypogeusia, and central nervous system infection with SARS-CoV-2 are key. Anxiety is a complication of COVID-19 that may exacerbate the infection course, and the infection may exacerbate anxiety. We present the mechanisms of anxiety in symptomatic or asymptomatic COVID-19. We discuss the presentation of anxiety in patients without or with prior psychiatric illness, and with co-morbidities. Timely diagnosis and management of anxiety in COVID-19 patients is important. Given the frequent complication of COVID-19 with Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and Intensive Care Unit stay, anxiety may be a long-term complication. We review the diagnostic tools for anxiety in COVID-19, and summarise pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic treatments. We provide recommendations for diagnosis, treatment, prevention and follow up of anxiety in COVID-19.Key pointsPatients with COVID-19 (symptomatic or asymptomatic) exhibit a high frequency of neuropsychiatric complications with highest percentage attributed to anxiety.Multiple biological and psychosocial risk factors for anxiety exist in COVID-19-ill individuals. Biological risk factors include stress, resilience, genetics, gender, age, immune system, direct infection of the central nervous system (CNS) with SARS-CoV-2, comorbid psychiatric and general medical illnesses, ARDS and ICU stay. Anosmia and hypogeusia are COVID-19-specific anxiety risk factors. Knowledge of the anxiety risk factors is essential to focus on timely interventions, because anxiety may be a complication of and exacerbate the COVID-19 course.An inverse correlation exists between resilience and anxiety because of COVID-19, and therefore efforts should be made to increase resilience in COVID-19 patients.In COVID-19, important anxiety mechanism is neuroinflammation resulting from activation of the immune system and an ensuing cytokine storm.The general approach to management of anxiety in COVID-19 should be compassionate, similar to that during trauma or disaster, with efforts focussed on instilling a sense of hope and resilience.In selecting pharmacological treatment of anxiety, the stress response and immune system effects should be key. Medications with cardio-respiratory adverse effects should be avoided in patients with respiratory problems.Anxiety is a disorder that will require for long-term follow up at least one month after COVID-19.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Genoveva Uzunova
- Psychiatric Research Institute at Montefiore-Einstein, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Stefano Pallanti
- Istituto di Neuroscienze, Firenze, Italy.,Montefiore Medical Center, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Eric Hollander
- Autism and Obsessive Compulsive Spectrum Program, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Psychiatric Research Institute at Montefiore-Einstein, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Doney E, Cadoret A, Dion-Albert L, Lebel M, Menard C. Inflammation-driven brain and gut barrier dysfunction in stress and mood disorders. Eur J Neurosci 2021; 55:2851-2894. [PMID: 33876886 PMCID: PMC9290537 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15239] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2020] [Revised: 03/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Regulation of emotions is generally associated exclusively with the brain. However, there is evidence that peripheral systems are also involved in mood, stress vulnerability vs. resilience, and emotion‐related memory encoding. Prevalence of stress and mood disorders such as major depression, bipolar disorder, and post‐traumatic stress disorder is increasing in our modern societies. Unfortunately, 30%–50% of individuals respond poorly to currently available treatments highlighting the need to further investigate emotion‐related biology to gain mechanistic insights that could lead to innovative therapies. Here, we provide an overview of inflammation‐related mechanisms involved in mood regulation and stress responses discovered using animal models. If clinical studies are available, we discuss translational value of these findings including limitations. Neuroimmune mechanisms of depression and maladaptive stress responses have been receiving increasing attention, and thus, the first part is centered on inflammation and dysregulation of brain and circulating cytokines in stress and mood disorders. Next, recent studies supporting a role for inflammation‐driven leakiness of the blood–brain and gut barriers in emotion regulation and mood are highlighted. Stress‐induced exacerbated inflammation fragilizes these barriers which become hyperpermeable through loss of integrity and altered biology. At the gut level, this could be associated with dysbiosis, an imbalance in microbial communities, and alteration of the gut–brain axis which is central to production of mood‐related neurotransmitter serotonin. Novel therapeutic approaches such as anti‐inflammatory drugs, the fast‐acting antidepressant ketamine, and probiotics could directly act on the mechanisms described here improving mood disorder‐associated symptomatology. Discovery of biomarkers has been a challenging quest in psychiatry, and we end by listing promising targets worth further investigation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ellen Doney
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and CERVO Brain Research Center, Université Laval, QC, Canada
| | - Alice Cadoret
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and CERVO Brain Research Center, Université Laval, QC, Canada
| | - Laurence Dion-Albert
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and CERVO Brain Research Center, Université Laval, QC, Canada
| | - Manon Lebel
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and CERVO Brain Research Center, Université Laval, QC, Canada
| | - Caroline Menard
- Department of Psychiatry and Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and CERVO Brain Research Center, Université Laval, QC, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
48
|
Balter LJT, Sundelin T, Axelsson J. Sickness and sleep health predict frustration and affective responses to a frustrating trigger. Sci Rep 2021; 11:1542. [PMID: 33452313 PMCID: PMC7810868 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-80461-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Accepted: 12/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Fluctuations in health and sleep are common, but we know surprisingly little about how these daily life stressors affect one's level of frustration and sensitivity to becoming frustrated. In this pre-registered study, 517 participants (Mage = 30.4, SD = 10.4) reported their current sickness symptoms, health status, sleepiness, and sleep duration and quality the previous night. They also rated their general frustration and mood before and after a mild frustration-eliciting task. In the task, participants were instructed to copy geometric shapes onto a piece of paper, without lifting the pen from the paper. Participants were given three minutes to copy the eight shapes, but in order to induce frustration half of them were unsolvable. The study was subsequently repeated in an independent sample (N = 113). Frustration increased in response to the task; however, those with the worst sickness symptoms or sleep health reduced or did not change their frustration levels. Instead, across both studies, frustration was already high at baseline for these individuals. These findings indicate that being sick or having poor sleep is related to high general frustration, but resilience to further frustration due to mild frustrating situations.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Tina Sundelin
- Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| | - John Axelsson
- Stress Research Institute, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
Kitzbichler MG, Aruldass AR, Barker GJ, Wood TC, Dowell NG, Hurley SA, McLean J, Correia M, Clarke C, Pointon L, Cavanagh J, Cowen P, Pariante C, Cercignani M, Bullmore ET, Harrison NA. Peripheral inflammation is associated with micro-structural and functional connectivity changes in depression-related brain networks. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:7346-7354. [PMID: 34535766 PMCID: PMC8872995 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-021-01272-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/19/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023]
Abstract
Inflammation is associated with depressive symptoms and innate immune mechanisms are likely causal in some cases of major depression. Systemic inflammation also perturbs brain function and microstructure, though how these are related remains unclear. We recruited N = 46 healthy controls, and N = 83 depressed cases stratified by CRP (> 3 mg/L: N = 33; < 3 mg/L: N = 50). All completed clinical assessment, venous blood sampling for C-reactive protein (CRP) assay, and brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Micro-structural MRI parameters including proton density (PD), a measure of tissue water content, were measured at 360 cortical and 16 subcortical regions. Resting-state fMRI time series were correlated to estimate functional connectivity between individual regions, as well as the sum of connectivity (weighted degree) of each region. Multiple tests for regional analysis were controlled by the false discovery rate (FDR = 5%). We found that CRP was significantly associated with PD in precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex (pC/pCC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC); and with functional connectivity between pC/pCC, mPFC and hippocampus. Depression was associated with reduced weighted degree of pC/pCC, mPFC, and other nodes of the default mode network (DMN). Thus CRP-related increases in proton density-a plausible marker of extracellular oedema-and changes in functional connectivity were anatomically co-localised with DMN nodes that also demonstrated significantly reduced hubness in depression. We suggest that effects of peripheral inflammation on DMN node micro-structure and connectivity may mediate inflammatory effects on depression.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manfred G. Kitzbichler
- grid.5335.00000000121885934University of Cambridge, Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Downing Site, Cambridge, UK
| | - Athina R. Aruldass
- grid.5335.00000000121885934University of Cambridge, Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Downing Site, Cambridge, UK
| | - Gareth J. Barker
- grid.13097.3c0000 0001 2322 6764Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Tobias C. Wood
- grid.13097.3c0000 0001 2322 6764Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Nicholas G. Dowell
- grid.414601.60000 0000 8853 076XUniversity of Sussex, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton, UK
| | - Samuel A. Hurley
- grid.416938.10000 0004 0641 5119University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK ,grid.14003.360000 0001 2167 3675University of Wisconsin, Department of Radiology, Madison, WI USA
| | - John McLean
- grid.8756.c0000 0001 2193 314XCollege of MVLS, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - Marta Correia
- grid.415036.50000 0001 2177 2032MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, Cambridge, UK
| | - Charlotte Clarke
- grid.414601.60000 0000 8853 076XUniversity of Sussex, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton, UK
| | - Linda Pointon
- grid.5335.00000000121885934University of Cambridge, Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Downing Site, Cambridge, UK
| | - Jonathan Cavanagh
- grid.511123.50000 0004 5988 7216Centre for Immunobiology, University of Glasgow and Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow, UK
| | - Phil Cowen
- grid.416938.10000 0004 0641 5119University of Oxford Department of Psychiatry, Warneford Hospital, Oxford, UK
| | - Carmine Pariante
- grid.13097.3c0000 0001 2322 6764Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychological Medicine, King’s College London, London, UK
| | - Mara Cercignani
- grid.414601.60000 0000 8853 076XUniversity of Sussex, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton, UK
| | | | - Edward T. Bullmore
- grid.5335.00000000121885934University of Cambridge, Brain Mapping Unit, Department of Psychiatry, Downing Site, Cambridge, UK
| | - Neil A. Harrison
- grid.414601.60000 0000 8853 076XUniversity of Sussex, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, Clinical Imaging Sciences Centre, Brighton, UK ,grid.5600.30000 0001 0807 5670Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK
| |
Collapse
|
50
|
Davies KA, Cooper E, Voon V, Tibble J, Cercignani M, Harrison NA. Interferon and anti-TNF therapies differentially modulate amygdala reactivity which predicts associated bidirectional changes in depressive symptoms. Mol Psychiatry 2021; 26:5150-5160. [PMID: 32457424 PMCID: PMC8589643 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-020-0790-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2019] [Revised: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/15/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
A third of patients receiving Interferon-α (IFN-α) treatment for Hepatitis-C develop major depressive disorder (MDD). Conversely, anti-Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) therapies improve depression providing key empirical support for the "inflammatory theory" of depression. Heightened amygdala reactivity (particularly to negatively valanced stimuli) is a consistent finding within MDD; can predict treatment efficacy and reverses following successful treatment. However, whether IFN-α and anti-TNF enhance/attenuate depressive symptoms through modulation of amygdala emotional reactivity is unknown. Utilizing a prospective study design, we recruited 30 patients (mean 48.0 ± 10.5 years, 21 male) initiating IFN-α treatment for Hepatitis-C and 30 (mean 50.4 ± 15.7 years, 10 male) anti-TNF therapy for inflammatory arthritis. All completed an emotional face-processing task during fMRI and blood sampling before and after their first IFN-α (4-h) or anti-TNF (24-h) injection and follow-up psychiatric assessments for 3 months of treatment. IFN-α significantly increased depression symptoms (Hamilton Depression Rating Scale HAM-D) at 4 weeks (p < 0.001) but not 4-h after first dose (p > 0.1). Conversely, anti-TNF significantly improved depressive symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Rating Scale HADS) at both 24-h (P = 0.015) and 12 weeks (p = 0.018). In support of our a-priori hypothesis, both IFN-α and anti-TNF significantly modulated amygdala reactivity with IFN-α acutely enhancing right amygdala responses to sad (compared with neutral) faces (p = 0.032) and anti-TNF conversely decreasing right amygdala reactivity (across emotional valence) (p = 0.033). Furthermore, these changes predicted IFN-induced increases in HAM-D 4 weeks later (R2 = 0.17, p = 0.022) and anti-TNF-associated decreases in HADS at 24-h (R2 = 0.23, p = 0.01) suggesting that actions of systemic inflammation on amygdala emotional reactivity play a mechanistic role in inflammation-associated depressive symptoms.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Kevin A. Davies
- grid.12082.390000 0004 1936 7590Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex Campus, Brighton, BN1 9RY UK ,grid.511096.aDepartment of Rheumatology, Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals, Brighton, UK
| | - Ella Cooper
- grid.12082.390000 0004 1936 7590Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex Campus, Brighton, BN1 9RY UK
| | - Valerie Voon
- grid.5335.00000000121885934Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ UK
| | - Jeremy Tibble
- grid.511096.aDepartment of Hepatology, Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals, Brighton, UK
| | - Mara Cercignani
- grid.12082.390000 0004 1936 7590Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex Campus, Brighton, BN1 9RY UK
| | - Neil A. Harrison
- grid.12082.390000 0004 1936 7590Department of Neuroscience, Brighton and Sussex Medical School, University of Sussex Campus, Brighton, BN1 9RY UK ,grid.5600.30000 0001 0807 5670Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF24 4HQ UK
| |
Collapse
|