• Cynthia S Kubu, Tim Brelje, Meryl A Butters, Thilo Deckersbach, Paul Malloy, Paul Moberg, Alexander I Tröster, Eric Williamson, Gordon H Baltuch, Mahendra T Bhati, Linda L Carpenter, Darin D Dougherty, Robert H Howland, Ali R Rezai, and Donald A Malone.
• Department of Psychiatry and Psychology, P57, Center for Neurological Restoration, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
• J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatr. 2017 Mar 1; 88 (3): 262-265.

BackgroundWe report the neuropsychological outcome of 25 patients with treatment-resistant major depressive disorder (TRD) who participated in an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved randomised double-blind trial comparing active to sham deep brain stimulation (DBS) in the anterior limb of the ventral capsule/ventral striatum (VC/VS).MethodsParticipants were randomised to active (n=12) versus sham (n=13) DBS for 16 weeks. Data were analysed at the individual and group levels. Group differences were analysed using repeated measures ANOVAs. Relationships between depression severity and cognition were examined using partial correlations. The false discovery rate method controlled for multiple analyses.ResultsNo significant interactions comparing active versus sham stimulation over time were evident. Change in depression was unrelated to change in neuropsychological measures. Twenty patients declined by ≥1 SD on at least one measure (41.3% of declines occurred in active group participants; 63.0% in older participants regardless of stimulation status). Twenty-two patients exhibited improvements >1 SD on neuropsychological measures (47.7% in the active group; 63.1% in younger participants).ConclusionsThese data suggest that VC/VS DBS in patients with TRD does not significantly affect neuropsychological function. Age at surgery, regardless of stimulation status, may be related to cognitive outcome at the individual patient level.Trial Registration NumberNCT00837486; Results.Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

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