European neuropsychopharmacology : the journal of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology
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Eur Neuropsychopharmacol · Mar 2014
Multicenter StudyBrain alterations in adult ADHD: effects of gender, treatment and comorbid depression.
Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have smaller volumes of total brain matter and subcortical regions, but it is unclear whether these represent delayed maturation or persist into adulthood. We performed a structural MRI study in 119 adult ADHD patients and 107 controls and investigated total gray and white matter and volumes of accumbens, caudate, globus pallidus, putamen, thalamus, amygdala and hippocampus. Additionally, we investigated effects of gender, stimulant treatment and history of major depression (MDD). ⋯ While these data were obtained in a cross-sectional sample and need to be replicated in a longitudinal study, the findings suggest that developmental brain differences in ADHD largely normalize in adulthood. Reduced caudate volume in male patients may point to distinct neurobiological deficits underlying ADHD in the two genders. Smaller hippocampus volume in ADHD patients with previous MDD is consistent with neurobiological alterations observed in MDD.
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Eur Neuropsychopharmacol · Mar 2014
ReviewThe placebo-nocebo response: controversies and challenges from clinical and research perspective.
Placebo and nocebo responses fascinate, confuse, mystify and challenge. They are genuine social, cultural and psychobiological phenomena which can significantly modify the overall treatment outcome. ⋯ Placebo-nocebo responses are mediated through changes in various cortico-subcortical networks and psychophysiological systems. In spite of many existing complementary theories and still growing research on placebo and nocebo response, the implementation of our current knowledge to benefit basic research, clinical trials and routine clinical practice is still so scarce.