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Malamud J, Lewis G, Moutoussis M, Duffy L, Bone J, Srinivasan R, Lewis G, Huys QJM. The selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor sertraline alters learning from aversive reinforcements in patients with depression: evidence from a randomized controlled trial. Psychol Med 2024; 54:2719-2731. [PMID: 38629200 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291724000837] [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] [Indexed: 10/10/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are first-line pharmacological treatments for depression and anxiety. However, little is known about how pharmacological action is related to cognitive and affective processes. Here, we examine whether specific reinforcement learning processes mediate the treatment effects of SSRIs. METHODS The PANDA trial was a multicentre, double-blind, randomized clinical trial in UK primary care comparing the SSRI sertraline with placebo for depression and anxiety. Participants (N = 655) performed an affective Go/NoGo task three times during the trial and computational models were used to infer reinforcement learning processes. RESULTS There was poor task performance: only 54% of the task runs were informative, with more informative task runs in the placebo than in the active group. There was no evidence for the preregistered hypothesis that Pavlovian inhibition was affected by sertraline. Exploratory analyses revealed that in the sertraline group, early increases in Pavlovian inhibition were associated with improvements in depression after 12 weeks. Furthermore, sertraline increased how fast participants learned from losses and faster learning from losses was associated with more severe generalized anxiety symptoms. CONCLUSIONS The study findings indicate a relationship between aversive reinforcement learning mechanisms and aspects of depression, anxiety, and SSRI treatment, but these relationships did not align with the initial hypotheses. Poor task performance limits the interpretability and likely generalizability of the findings, and highlights the critical importance of developing acceptable and reliable tasks for use in clinical studies. FUNDING This article presents research supported by NIHR Program Grants for Applied Research (RP-PG-0610-10048), the NIHR BRC, and UCL, with additional support from IMPRS COMP2PSYCH (JM, QH) and a Wellcome Trust grant (QH).
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Affiliation(s)
- Jolanda Malamud
- Applied Computational Psychiatry Lab, Mental Health Neuroscience Department, Division of Psychiatry and Max Planck Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Gemma Lewis
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK
| | - Michael Moutoussis
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry & Ageing Research, University College London, London, UK
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Larisa Duffy
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK
| | - Jessica Bone
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK
- Research Department of Behavioural Science and Health, Institute of Epidemiology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Glyn Lewis
- Division of Psychiatry, University College London, London, UK
| | - Quentin J M Huys
- Applied Computational Psychiatry Lab, Mental Health Neuroscience Department, Division of Psychiatry and Max Planck Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
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Solaja I, Haldane K, Mason N, Weiss B, Xu X, Xu M, Nikolin S, Jayasena T, Millard M, Brett J, Bayes A, Loo CK, Martin DM. Who are you after psychedelics? A systematic review and a meta-analysis of the magnitude of long-term effects of serotonergic psychedelics on cognition/creativity, emotional processing and personality. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 158:105570. [PMID: 38311046 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105570] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2023] [Revised: 01/29/2024] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/06/2024]
Abstract
This systematic review and a meta-analysis synthesised the results from contemporary, randomized and non-randomized controlled studies to assess lasting (one week minimum) changes on cognition/creativity, emotional processing and personality from serotonergic psychedelics. PubMed, Embase and PsycInfo were searched in July 2022. Risk of bias was assessed using Rob 2.0 and ROBINS-I. Ten studies met the eligibility criteria which involved 304 participants. No statistically significant effects were found for the majority outcome measures across the three constructs. A meta-analysis of emotional recognition outcomes found an overall significant effect for faster reaction times in the active treatment groups for disgust (SMD=-0.63, 95% CI=[-1.01 to -0.25], I2 = 65%) and sadness (SMD=-0.45, 95% CI=[-0.85 to -0.06], I2 = 60%). Future research should include larger samples, better control conditions, standardized doses and longer follow-up periods to confirm these preliminary findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ivana Solaja
- School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
| | | | - Natasha Mason
- Department of Neuropsychology and Psychopharmacology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
| | - Brandon Weiss
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Division of Academic Psychiatry, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Xiaomin Xu
- School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Mei Xu
- School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Stevan Nikolin
- School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Black Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia
| | - Tharusha Jayasena
- School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | | | | | - Adam Bayes
- School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Black Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia
| | - Colleen K Loo
- School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Black Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia
| | - Donel M Martin
- School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Black Dog Institute, Sydney, Australia
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Beinhölzl N, Molloy EN, Zsido RG, Richter T, Piecha FA, Zheleva G, Scharrer U, Regenthal R, Villringer A, Okon-Singer H, Sacher J. The attention-emotion interaction in healthy female participants on oral contraceptives during 1-week escitalopram intake. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:809269. [PMID: 36161146 PMCID: PMC9500523 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.809269] [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: 11/04/2021] [Accepted: 08/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous findings in healthy humans suggest that selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) modulate emotional processing via earlier changes in attention. However, many previous studies have provided inconsistent findings. One possible reason for such inconsistencies is that these studies did not control for the influence of either sex or sex hormone fluctuations. To address this inconsistency, we administered 20 mg escitalopram or placebo for seven consecutive days in a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled design to sixty healthy female participants with a minimum of 3 months oral contraceptive (OC) intake. Participants performed a modified version of an emotional flanker task before drug administration, after a single dose, after 1 week of SSRI intake, and after a 1-month wash-out period. Supported by Bayesian analyses, our results do not suggest a modulatory effect of escitalopram on behavioral measures of early attentional-emotional interaction in female individuals with regular OC use. While the specific conditions of our task may be a contributing factor, it is also possible that a practice effect in a healthy sample may mask the effects of escitalopram on the attentional-emotional interplay. Consequently, 1 week of escitalopram administration may not modulate attention toward negative emotional distractors outside the focus of attention in healthy female participants taking OCs. While further research in naturally cycling females and patient samples is needed, our results represent a valuable contribution toward the preclinical investigation of antidepressant treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathalie Beinhölzl
- Emotion and Neuroimaging Lab, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- *Correspondence: Nathalie Beinhölzl,
| | - Eóin N. Molloy
- Emotion and Neuroimaging Lab, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- University Clinic for Radiology and Nuclear Medicine, Otto Von Guericke University Magdeburg, Magdeburg, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases, Magdeburg, Germany
| | - Rachel G. Zsido
- Emotion and Neuroimaging Lab, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Max Planck School of Cognition, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Thalia Richter
- Department of Psychology, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Fabian A. Piecha
- Emotion and Neuroimaging Lab, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Gergana Zheleva
- Emotion and Neuroimaging Lab, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ulrike Scharrer
- Emotion and Neuroimaging Lab, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ralf Regenthal
- Division of Clinical Pharmacology, Rudolf Boehm Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Arno Villringer
- Department of Neurology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Max Planck School of Cognition, Leipzig, Germany
- Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Berlin School of Mind and Brain, MindBrainBody Institute, Charité—Berlin University of Medicine and Humboldt University Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Hadas Okon-Singer
- Department of Psychology, School of Psychological Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
- The Integrated Brain and Behavior Research Center (IBBRC), University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
| | - Julia Sacher
- Emotion and Neuroimaging Lab, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Max Planck School of Cognition, Leipzig, Germany
- Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Helios Park Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
- Julia Sacher,
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Hobbs C, Beck M, Denham F, Pettitt L, Faraway J, Munafò MR, Sui J, Kessler D, Button KS. Relationship between change in social evaluation learning and mood in early antidepressant treatment: A prospective cohort study in primary care. J Psychopharmacol 2022; 37:303-312. [PMID: 36000259 PMCID: PMC10076340 DOI: 10.1177/02698811221116928] [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] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Antidepressants are proposed to work by increasing sensitivity to positive versus negative information. Increasing positive affective learning within social contexts may help remediate negative self-schema. We investigated the association between change in biased learning of social evaluations about the self and others, and mood during early antidepressant treatment. METHOD Prospective cohort assessing patients recruited from primary care in South West England at four timepoints over the first 8 weeks of antidepressant treatment (n = 29). At each timepoint, participants completed self-report measures of depression (Beck Depression Inventory II (BDI-II) and Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9)), anxiety (Generalised Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire 7 (GAD-7)), and a computerised task measuring learning of social evaluations about the self, a friend and a stranger. RESULTS We did not find evidence that learning about the self was associated with a reduction in PHQ-9 (b = 0.08, 95% CI: -0.05, 0.20, p = 0.239) or BDI-II scores (b = 0.10, 95% CI: -0.18, 0.38, p = 0.469). We found some weak evidence that increased positive learning about the friend was associated with a reduction in BDI-II scores (b = 0.30, 95% CI: -0.02, 0.62, p = 0.069). However, exploratory analyses indicated stronger evidence that increased positive learning about the self (b = 0.18, 95% CI: 0.07, 0.28, p = 0.002) and a friend (b = 0.22, 95% CI: 0.10, 0.35, p = 0.001) was associated with reductions in anxiety. CONCLUSIONS Change in social evaluation learning was associated with a reduction in anxiety but not depression. Antidepressants may treat anxiety symptoms by remediating negative affective biases towards socially threatening information directed towards the self and close others. However, our findings are based on exploratory analyses within a small sample without a control group and are therefore at risk of type 1 errors and order effects. Further research with larger samples is required.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Milly Beck
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Faye Denham
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Laura Pettitt
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Julian Faraway
- Department of Mathematical Sciences, University of Bath, Bath, UK
| | - Marcus R Munafò
- School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.,MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.,National Institute of Health Research Biomedical Research Centre, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Jie Sui
- School of Psychology, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, UK
| | - David Kessler
- Population Health Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
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