OPEN Foundation

C. Averill

Prefrontal Connectivity and Glutamate Transmission: Relevance to Depression Pathophysiology and Ketamine Treatment

April 23, 2017 / Depression, Ketamine, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychopharmacology / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

Background

Prefrontal global brain connectivity with global signal regression (GBCr) was proposed as a robust biomarker of depression and was associated with ketamine’s mechanism of action. Here, we investigated prefrontal GBCr in treatment-resistant depression (TRD) at baseline and following treatment. Then, we conducted a set of pharmacological challenges in healthy subjects to investigate the glutamate neurotransmission correlates of GBCr.

Methods

In the cohort A study, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to compare GBCr between 22 patients with TRD and 29 healthy control subjects. Then, we examined the effects of ketamine and midazolam on GBCr in patients with TRD 24 hours posttreatment. In the cohort B study, we acquired repeated functional magnetic resonance imaging in 18 healthy subjects to determine the effects of lamotrigine (a glutamate release inhibitor), ketamine, and lamotrigine-by-ketamine interaction.

Results

In the cohort A study, patients with TRD showed significant reduction in dorsomedial and dorsolateral prefrontal GBCr compared with healthy control subjects. In patients with TRD, GBCr in the altered clusters significantly increased 24 hours following ketamine (effect size = 1.0, confidence interval = 0.3 to 1.8) but not following midazolam (effect size = 0.5, confidence interval = −0.6 to 1.3). In the cohort B study, oral lamotrigine reduced GBCr 2 hours postadministration, while ketamine increased medial prefrontal GBCr during infusion. Lamotrigine significantly reduced the ketamine-induced GBCr surge. Exploratory analyses showed elevated ventral prefrontal GBCr in TRD and significant reduction of ventral prefrontal GBCr during ketamine infusion in healthy subjects.

Conclusions

This study provides the first replication of the ability of ketamine to normalize depression-related prefrontal dysconnectivity. It also provides indirect evidence that these effects may be triggered by the capacity of ketamine to enhance glutamate neurotransmission.

Abdallah, C. G., Averill, C. L., Salas, R., Averill, L. A., Baldwin, P. R., Krystal, J. H., … & Mathalon, D. H. (2017). Prefrontal Connectivity & Glutamate Transmission: Relevance to Depression Pathophysiology and Ketamine Treatment. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. 10.1016/j.bpsc.2017.04.006
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Ketamine Treatment and Global Brain Connectivity in Major Depression

September 8, 2016 / Depression, Ketamine, Neuroscience, Papers, Psychiatry, Psychology, Psychopharmacology, Publications / By / , , , , , ,

Abstract

Capitalizing on recent advances in resting state functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fcMRI) and the distinctive paradigm of rapid mood normalization following ketamine treatment, the current study investigated intrinsic brain networks in major depressive disorder (MDD) during a depressive episode and following treatment with ketamine. Medication-free patients with MDD and healthy control subjects (HC) completed baseline rs-fcMRI. MDD patients received a single infusion of ketamine and underwent repeated rs-fcMRI at 24 h post-treatment. Global brain connectivity with global signal regression (GBCr) values were computed as the average of correlations of each voxel with all other gray matter voxels in the brain. MDD group showed reduced GBCr in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), but increased GBCr in the posterior cingulate, precuneus, lingual gyrus, and cerebellum. Ketamine significantly increased GBCr in the PFC and reduced GBCr in the cerebellum. At baseline, 2174 voxels of altered GBCr were identified, but only 310 voxels significantly differed relative to controls following treatment (corrected α<0.05). Responders to ketamine showed increased GBCr in the lateral PFC, caudate, and insula. Followup seed-based analyses illustrated a pattern of dysconnectivity between the PFC/subcortex and the rest of the brain in MDD, which appeared to normalize post-ketamine. The extent of the functional dysconnectivity identified in MDD and the swift and robust normalization following treatment, suggest that GBCr may serve as a treatment response biomarker for the development of rapid acting antidepressants. The data also identified unique prefrontal and striatal circuitry as putative marker of successful treatment and target for antidepressants development.

Abdallah, C. G., Averill, L. A., Collins, K. A., Geha, P., Schwartz, J., Averill, C., … & Iosifescu, D. V. (2016). Ketamine Treatment and Global Brain Connectivity in Major Depression. Neuropsychopharmacology: official publication of the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology. 10.1038/npp.2016.186

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30 April - Q&A with Rick Strassman

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