Brain mechanisms of depression--preliminary evidence from fMRI studies

Although brain monoamines serotonin, noradrenaline, and dopamine have been repeatedly shown to be linked to depression, it remains unclear how monoamine dysfunction is mechanistically related to symptoms of depression. We hypothesized that imbalances in the networks of regions innervated by monoamin...

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Published inPsychiatria et neurologia Japonica Vol. 116; no. 10; p. 825
Main Authors Okada, Go, Okamoto, Yasumasa, Shishida, Kazuhiro, Ueda, Kazutaka, Onoda, Keiichi, Kunisato, Yoshihiko, Tanaka, Saori C, Doya, Kenji, Yamawaki, Shigeto
Format Journal Article
LanguageJapanese
Published Japan 2014
Subjects
Brain - metabolism
Brain - pathology
Brain Mapping
Depression - metabolism
Depression - pathology
Humans
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Reward
Serotonin - metabolism
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Summary:Although brain monoamines serotonin, noradrenaline, and dopamine have been repeatedly shown to be linked to depression, it remains unclear how monoamine dysfunction is mechanistically related to symptoms of depression. We hypothesized that imbalances in the networks of regions innervated by monoamines disrupt patients' learning and decision-making abilities, and this disruption could, in turn, lead to symptoms of depression. We have conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies on learning and decision-making, mainly focusing on the role of serotonin. Our results suggest that parallel organization for reward prediction at different time scales in the striatum is under differential modulation by serotonin, and that depression is associated with a diminished recruitment of the dorsal striatum, involved in long-term reward prediction. Based on these findings, the brain mechanisms of depression are discussed.
ISSN:0033-2658