Unaltered Brain GABA Concentrations and Resting fMRI Activity in Functional Dyspepsia With and Without Comorbid Depression

• Published in: Frontiers in psychiatry Vol. 11; p. 549749
• Main Authors: Mak, Arthur D P, Ho, Yuen Man, Leung, Owen N W, Chou, Idy Wing Yi, Lui, Rashid, Wong, Sunny, Yeung, David K W, Chu, Winnie C W, Edden, Richard, Chan, Sandra, Lam, Linda, Wu, Justin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 11.09.2020
• Subjects: functional dyspepsia; GABA; magnetic resonance spectroscopy; major depressive disorder; Psychiatry; resting fMRI; GABA; magnetic resonance spectroscopy; functional dyspepsia; major depressive disorder; resting fMRI
• ISSN: 1664-0640; 1664-0640
• DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2020.549749

GABA-deficit characterizes depression (MDD), which is highly comorbid with Functional Dyspepsia (FD). We examined brain GABA concentrations and resting activities in post-prandial distress subtype FD (FD-PDS) patients with and without MDD. 24 female age/education-matched FD-PDS with comorbid MDD (FD-PDS-MDD), non-depressed FD-PDS, and healthy controls each were compared on GABA concentrations, resting fMRI (fALFF) in bilateral pregenual anterior cingulate (pgACC), left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), insula, and somatosensory cortex (SSC). FD-PDS-MDD patients had mild though elevated depressive symptoms. FD-PDS patients had generally mild dyspeptic symptoms. No significant between-group differences in GABA or fALFF were found. No significant correlations were found between GABA and depressive/dyspeptic symptoms after Bonferroni correction. In patients, GABA correlated positively with left insula fALFF (r = 0.38, Bonferroni-corrected p = .03). We did not find altered GABA concentrations or brain resting activity in FD-PDS or its MDD comorbidity. The neurochemical link between MDD and FD remains elusive.